It says a lot for the freshly-announced squad’s developmental nature that the still-young Carys Batiste can be considered the experienced Island Games player of the bunch – this being her fourth Games.
None of the other picks have attended an off-island Games. Alex Tapp, David Trebert and Grace Edwards all made their debuts at Guernsey 2023 and now join six first-timers in the squad of 10.
Among the promising newbies is Medha Vallapureddy, who won her maiden Guernsey women’s singles title last October at just 14 years old.
Successful para-athlete Jay Webber and county-level player Naomi Priest complete the very young women’s team.
Jonny Holmes provides an established senior presence to the men’s squad, which also includes two young Jacks – Dowinton and Garbutt.
Head selector Maxine Fitzgerald feels that Tapp, Trebert and Edwards will get a ‘totally different experience’ playing away for their second Games. She also hopes the first-timers can develop through it.
‘Lots of the Guernsey Island Games team retired, which was always to be expected after a home Games,’ she said.
‘The team have trained hard over the last two years and they represent the next generation of players and future for Guernsey.
‘We are very excited to see how well they perform in these Games.
‘While the team is young, we hope that they gain valuable experience at the Orkney Island Games and build for the future, with all of the players having many more Island Games ahead of them.’
Guernsey squad
Carys Batiste, Grace Edwards, Jay Webber, Medha Vallapureddy, Naomi Priest, Alex Tapp, David Trebert, Jack Dowinton, Jack Garbutt, Jonny Holmes.
