Island Games comment: Grab this moment in history

Sunday 23 July 2023

Guernsey 2023 was one hell of a ride, packed full of emotion and drama.

Who else has got an Island Games hangover?

After the week that unfolded, it’s understandable.

The beauty of sport is that it transcends cultures and backgrounds to unite people, it’s about so much more than a time, a result or a medal table.

Guernsey has never been so vibrant in modern times, for a week the shackles were off and big events were delivered.

From the moment the athletes paraded through thousands of people along the esplanade,  you just knew something special was unfolding.

The platform was provided by the sports themselves.

Week in and week out, they stage events - for the Games they supercharged them.

If you’ve ever watched a domestic mountain bike race, triathlon, athletics meet or basketball match, you could never imagine those sports could pull in thousands of spectators.

But never before has the Field of Dreams philosophy of “if you build it, they will come” been proven so valid on these shores.

Stage the right event and you will pull in a crowd that will engage and inspire - there are lessons there for anyone moaning about the inconvenience of a road closure.

We celebrated medals, we empathised with those who either did not perform as they wanted or were denied the opportunity by injuries. 

We were delighted by the stories from visitors, delved into the history of the Games and other islands’ heritage.

Guernsey was alive, our venues, cafes, restaurants, bars, clubs and hotels buzzed with custom.

The Games' impact trickled through the economy.

And it all leaves you hungry for more.

It is likely to be another two decades before the next Games rolls around, but sitting here and waiting for that is not an option.

As clubs deal with a spike in interest in what they are offering, they are also talking about what comes next.

One legacy should be a Town seafront sporting spectacular and government needs to help facilitate that, not throw up barriers as it has in the past.

Could it help subsidise travel and freight costs and so break down the biggest hurdle to growing major sporting events in the island?

It is not just about investing public funds, but leveraging things like its marketing power too.

After the first Island Games in the Isle of Man in 1985, Owen Le Vallee put his hand up to say Guernsey would host the next one.

That he was bold and brave enough to do so we have to be enormously thankful for, without that, something that has grown to be so special would have withered away.

It is time to grab this moment in history in the same way.