Although both islands missed a significant number of their top senior swimmers, a Guernsey team with eight new caps stepped it up superbly not only to win for the first time since 2018 but do so convincingly, prevailing 236-180 at Beau Sejour.
Many of the Sarnian swimmers had missed a week’s training following that same venue’s closure from Tuesday 15 to Sunday 20 September due to Legionella bacteria in the water system, but they barely let it show and collectively came away with three inter-insular records, too.
Guernsey Swimming Club star Chloe Bown, who shared captaincy with up-and-coming Barracuda talent Spike Jinks, had been pleased to start the season in style.
‘It’s a really nice start to the season because inter-insulars are the first main competition,’ the seven-time Orkney 2025 gold medallist said.
‘To start off with something good moves the momentum for the rest of the season, basically, especially with the Island Games at the end.’
Jinks added: ‘It’s definitely a nice boost to the team. We’ve had a break over the summer and we’ve come back to a victory, and it’s definitely raising morale for the rest of the season.’
Bown got Guernsey off to a flier by leading a one-two in the 16-and-over girls’ 100m individual medley, with Emma Bourgaize touching as runner-up.
A similar achievement in the boys’ equivalent, where Samuel Cann led in Jinks, set a highly positive tone for the rest of the day.
There were many such one-twos claimed by Guernsey, with a 122-96 scoreline at the half-way marker showing the competition that the visiting Caesareans were up against.
The first record came relatively early on as the quartet of Zach Maiden, Louis Moherndl, Cooper Robinson and Henry Bolton covered the boys’ 14-15 4x50m freestyle relay in 1min. 42.82sec. and broke a Jersey-held mark nearly as old as them.
One particularly close shave came in the 100m breaststroke, where Bown swam 1-11.94 to miss her own senior record by a mere 0.02sec.
Maiden succeeded in altering the record books individually, though, when he swam 1-00.61 in the 14-15 boys’ 100m backstroke to beat a standard Simon Le Couilliard had set all the way back in 2002.
The impressive Maiden racked up a third record in swimming the breaststroke leg of the 14-15 boys’ 4x50m medley relay, in which he, Moherndl, Robinson and Bolton collectively clocked 1-53.60.
That concluding series of relays featured some cracking, to-the-touch racing, with the senior men’s 4x50m freestyle finale particularly raising the audience’s voices.
Guernsey Amateur Swimming Association president Conor Osborough, at 49, contributed personally to his side’s battling victory in that event and was soon presenting the trophy to the winning captains.
‘I’m really pleased – we were really good,’ he said, reflecting on the wider Guernsey squad’s performances.
‘We’ve got some really good swimmers coming up, particularly in the younger age groups ... which is pleasing to see.
‘We’re probably a bit light in the oldest age group [16 and over], but again we performed really well across the board.’
Although Osborough admitted the closure of Beau Sejour had caused ‘a bit of disruption’, there was no complaining about the outcome.
‘It’s nice to beat Jersey by a relatively large margin,’ he added.
He also underlined that it was not just about those who won their events – praising those contributing to the total by placing second, third or fourth.
‘That doesn’t detract from the other swimmers. It’s a team event.’
Bown is already feeling the excitement of the Faroe Islands 2027 and thinks events like this are important for building up team camaraderie.
‘Something like this gets people used to cheering on others, and the team spirit, too, so when they go to the Island Games – it might be their first time or let’s say their third time – it’s a memory you can have going to that.’
Jinks, who also competed at Orkney 2025, highlighted how important the Island Games were as an objective.
‘It gives the younger swimmers a chance to develop their swimming outside of the Channel Islands.
‘It’s an opportunity to spread further and go internationally as well.
'It’s definitely something most of us look forward to competing at.’
Bown added: ‘They might not be going to the Island Games next year, but there’s quite a few Island Games swimmers here, so they can see us and see that’s something they want to do in the future.’
