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His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor said his “eyes have been opened” to the high level of sport in Guernsey.
Lieutenant General Richard Cripwell CB CBE spoke to Express when he watched the British Army volleyball team take on the Guernsey men’s team on Thursday.
“It’s really important to me to get to as many sporting events as I can in Guernsey and also to take part in as many as my body will allow me to,” said the Lieutenant-Governor.
“It is super to see the extraordinary variety of sport that is played in Guernsey by both men and women; it’s really opened my eyes and I’m very keen to be as much a part of it as possible.”
Pictured: Lieutenant-Governor Richard Cripwell was "excited" to see sport return to Beau Sejour.
Thursday marked the last of three nights of volleyball games between Guernsey and the British army.
The matches were the first sporting events Guernsey has hosted in the Sir John Loveridge Hall since it was returned to use as a sports hall after being used as the covid vaccination centre during the pandemic.
“It is super to see sport being played at Beau Sejour again. I am delighted the army has come over, not only because I was an army officer, but also because it’s great to see sports teams coming here to test themselves against island teams,” said the Lieutenant-Governor.
Pictured: The Lieutenant-Governor said he was "rooting for guernsey 100%" at the game.
Guernsey Sports Commission Director of Communications, Nicky Will, said the Commission “couldn’t miss the opportunity” to invite the Lieutenant-Governor to the games.
“We are delighted that the new Lieutenant-Governor is a sports fan and we are looking forward to showing him the breadth of sports and activities available in Guernsey over the coming months,” she said.
“It was great to see the Sir John Loveridge Sports Hall back in action and the Commission would like to congratulate the Guernsey Volleyball Association on organising a great few days of competition.”
Pictured: The Lieutenant-Governor spoke with all the players on both the Guernsey and Army teams.
Army Volleyball Head Coach, Alex Menya MBE, said that the Lieutenant-Governor’s attendance at the game was an “honour”.
“For the General to have come to the game meant a lot to the whole team because it showed that Guernsey values our presence; the General’s presence honoured our presence here,” he said.
“It was a huge sign of respect and we really switched into gear by having the General at the game.”
Mr Menya said the team’s time in Guernsey had been “amazing”.
“None of us have ever been to Guernsey before and we were expecting it to be like the UK, but it seems almost continental. We have really noticed how friendly the people of Guernsey are and they have been so receptive to sharing stories with us and sharing a laugh,” he said.
“It has been excellent for us to have had a part in awakening a sleeping giant of volleyball in the island and we very much hope to return and would like to bring our women’s team too to play against the Guernsey women’s team.”
Pictured: The army volleyball team beat the Guernsey men's team in all three games this week.
Guernsey Volleyball Association Chair, Dave Bartram, said it was “an honour” to have the Lieutenant-Governor in attendance at Friday’s game.
“The Lieutenant-Governor watched the entire game, which saw the army beat Guernsey 3 sets to 1,” he said.
“Guernsey punches well above its weight in sport for the size of the island. Both the men and women’s volleyball teams have seen success at the recent Hampshire League, with the ladies’ team winning the tournament and the men winning all three games in their last weekend in the league.
“The three games against the army have been great preparation for the Guernsey men ahead of the inter-insulars and our coaches benefitted from seeing how the army team played.
“The event was also a great boost for Guernsey tourism and the army are keen to make it an annual event.”
Pictured: The Lieutenant-Governor (left) watched the game with Guernsey Volleyball Association Chair, Dave Bartram.
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