Island Games: Get to know... Menorca
The Mediterranean island of Menorca is ‘a very quiet island, unlike Majorca or Ibiza’, according to Menorca Island Games Association committee member Antonio Vidal.
The western Balearic Island of Ibiza is well known for its nightclub scene and the larger Majorca is a popular beach-resort destination for Spanish and British tourists alike, but Menorca in the east is a relative haven of tranquillity.
Tourism is nevertheless important for the economy, he told us, but it is fairly concentrated in the summer months.
When asked what Menorcans love to moan about, Antonio reported: ‘There is always a problem with many cars on the main road [the Me-1] in August’.
The island’s news agenda has been dominated in recent months by the Spanish local elections, which saw all 59 seats in the Parliament of the Balearic Islands up for grabs. Menorcan voters chose 13 of those on 28 May, to serve for four years, with the right-wing People’s Party replacing the left-wing Socialist Party as the party with the most seats.
Menorcans themselves are ‘very reserved, but when they are open, they are very open,’ Antonio said.
Menorca will compete in 12 sports with a team of athletes aged from 15 to 53.
They take a pride in any defeat of Majorca but these are rare.
‘It is difficult to compete because of facilities,’ Antonio said.
‘In my sport of swimming, Majorca has four Olympic-size swimming pools [50m] but here in Menorca we have just two pools of 25m.’
In explaining his island’s enthusiasm for sporting competition, he cited the ‘municipal games’ which took place in 2021, to replace – for Menorcans – the ‘Guernsey 2021’ games which got pushed back by the pandemic.
This saw athletes compete in all 18 sports on the IIGA roster, with a scoring system ranking the achievements of all the participating regions.
‘This was played with the same spirit as the Island Games,’ Antonio said, ‘and helped to maintain competitiveness and inform selection for Guernsey 2023. It was a very good experience. It is very difficult for Menorcan competitors to compete at international level so the Island Games is very important.’
One of the most high-profile athletes from Menorca at the moment is former tennis player Gemma Triay Pons, who is from the capital, Mahon.
The same age as Heather Watson, she has been on Games podiums in the past, winning two gold medals in the Aland in 2009 – one in the women’s doubles and another in the team event – in addition to a silver in the singles.
However, in recent times she has adopted the fast-growing sport of padel with even greater success. She is currently ranked joint third on the World Padel Tour and has a win percentage this year of 83%.
Menorca will be disappointed not to see judo included this year, having won 12 of their 31 medals at Gibraltar 2019 in the sport, but they can be expected to be competitive in several others, especially shooting, athletics and tennis.
Football, basketball, archery, table tennis and sailing are also very popular in Menorca, as is volleyball, although this is not included at these games.
ABOUT MENORCA
Area: 696 sq. km (269 sq. miles)
Population: 93,397 (census)
Population density: 134 per sq. km
Time zone: One hour ahead of Guernsey
Distance from Guernsey: 1,172 km (728 m)
Total IG medals won: 166 (50 G, 49 S, 67 B)
Medals won in 2003: n/a (joined the IIGA in 2005)
Competitors coming to Guernsey: 92
Route: Flight or ferry to Barcelona, flight to Paris, drive to St Malo, ferry to Guernsey
Sports in which competing: Archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, cycling, golf, football, sailing, shooting, table tennis, tennis, triathlon
Biggest sports star: Albert Torres (cyclist, won the Madison at the UCI World Championships in 2014)
National delicacy: Caldereta de langosta (lobster stew)
Parliamentary representation: 13 seats in the 59-seat Balearic Parliament
