Island Games: Get to know ... Orkney
ORKNEY competitors and officials will be paying closer attention than most to the running of these Games, as the next in 2025 will see them hosting for the first time.
Indeed, but for Covid, the Guernsey Games would have been done and dusted two years ago and the Island Games family would now be converging on the more northerly island group.
The 20th Games will no doubt be a proud occasion for a proud archipelago, as Orcadians are very conscious of their heritage.
Just this week, the Orkney Islands Council discussed a proposal to investigate alternative forms of governance, including the prospect of becoming a fourth Crown Dependency along with Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man.
Another option would be to pursue a greater connection to one of the Nordic countries.
The topic was brought up by the council leader, following what he described as insufficient funding from both the Scottish and the UK governments, compared to what similar populations in Shetland and the Western Isles receive, especially in regard to the provision and maintenance of adequate ferry services.
Orkney Island Games Association team manager Edgar Balfour brought up the same issue when we asked what Orcadians liked to moan about.
‘We’ve got private and state-sponsored services for travel in and out of Orkney and the inter-island routes – because we have 18 inhabited islands – and many are 30 years old or more and keep breaking down,’ he said.
‘Orcadians are keen for the UK and Scotland to recognise that these are lifeline services.’
Nevertheless, Edgar paints a picture of a bucolic island life for an archipelago with just one third of Guernsey’s population in an area 16 times larger.
‘We’d like to think were very friendly and welcoming – that’s a strong island trait,’ he said, ‘and we have a strong identity as a people.’
Farming is the mainstay of the economy, with sheep and cattle grazing on abundant, fertile land. However, tourism, fishing and – more recently – renewable energy are also contributors to the economy. Or at least, they will be.
‘With wind and tidal energy production, we’re able to produce 130% of the power we actually need but we don’t yet have the infrastructure to be able to export it to the mainland,’ Edgar said.
Orkney is the home of the European Marine Energy Centre, which claims to be ‘the world’s first and leading facility for demonstrating and testing wave and tidal energy converters in the sea’ as well as ‘pioneering the development of a green hydrogen economy and smart local energy systems’.
‘We’ve been at the cutting edge of renewables and it’s served us well,’ Edgar told us.
Where sport is concerned, ‘football is the most popular sport, along with swimming and, increasingly, athletics and we also have a rugby club playing in the Scottish league system’.
‘We play a lot of local derbies against the more northerly isles,’ Edgar said.
‘We do have more fixtures against the mainland now, because connections have improved, so we take on teams in Caithness in some sports but it’s Shetland that you want to beat.’
Edgar nominated Andrew Leslie as the all-time sports star of Orkney and he will carry the flag at the opening ceremony in St Peter Port on Saturday, as he will again be competing in the sailing.
He will be one of three sailors, while fellow Orcadians will compete in 11 other sports, with men’s football, athletics and badminton making up the biggest teams.
There will also be a special fact-finding committee on the island, to make sure Orkney 2025 is a memorable – if belated – success.
About Orkney
Area: 990 sq. km (380 sq. miles)
Population: 22,540 (2021)
Population density: 23 per sq. km
Time zone: Same as Guernsey
Distance from Guernsey: 1,047km (650m)
Total IG medals won: 106 (23 G, 40 S, 43 B)
Medals won in 2003: 1 (Bronze)
Competitors coming to Guernsey: 83
Route: The Shetland to Aberdeen ferry is diverting to Orkney to collect the team, charter flight from Aberdeen to Guernsey with Aurigny
Sports in which competing: archery, athletics, badminton, bowls, cycling, golf, football, sailing, shooting, swimming, triathlon
Biggest sports star: Andrew Leslie (sailing)
National delicacy: Double pattie supper (patties of mince, onion and potatoes, battered and deep fried and served with chips)
Parliamentary representation: One MP in the 650-seat House of Commons – chosen with Shetland – one MSP in the 129-seat Scottish Parliament, Orkney Islands Council has 21 members
