Island Games

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The Island Games (currently known as the NatWest Island Games for sponsorship reasons) are an international multi-sports event organized by the International Island Games Association.

History

The Island Games began in 1985 as the Inter-Island Games, as part of the Isle of Man International Year of Sport, and were intended to be a one-off sporting celebration only. Geoffrey Corlett, who became the first Games Director, not only contacted the islands surrounding the United Kingdom, but also encouraged the countries of Iceland and Malta, the territories of Faroe Islands, Greenland, Saint Helena, the Channel Islands and others to participate. Initially, fifteen islands with 600 competitors and officials took part in seven sports, with the total cost of staging the Games being put at £70,000. The track and field events were held on an eight-lane grass track, a far cry from the current games, which now use a synthetic track in a stadium capable of holding 10,000 spectators. So successful were the Games of 1985 that it was decided to hold a similar event two years later.

Game venues

Faroese stamp to the 1989 Island Games: Rowing
Football
Year Games Host Island Country
1985 I  Isle of Man United Kingdom British crown dependency
1987 II  Guernsey United Kingdom British crown dependency
1989 III  Faroe Islands Denmark autonomous region of the Kingdom of Denmark
1991 IV  Åland Finland Finnish autonomous province
1993 V Isle of Wight Isle of Wight England English county
1995 VI  Gibraltar United Kingdom British overseas territory
1997 VII  Jersey United Kingdom British crown dependency
1999 VIII  Gotland Sweden Swedish county
2001 IX  Isle of Man United Kingdom British crown dependency
2003 X  Guernsey United Kingdom British crown dependency
2005 XI  Shetland Scotland Scottish council area
2007 XII  Rhodes Greece Greek island
2009 XIII  Åland Finland Finnish autonomous province
2011 XIV  Isle of Wight England English county
2013 XV  Bermuda United Kingdom British overseas territory
2015 XVI  Jersey United Kingdom British crown dependency
2017 XVII  Gotland Sweden Swedish county
2019 XVIII  Faroe Islands Denmark autonomous region of the Kingdom of Denmark
2021 XIX  Minorca Spain Spanish island

Sports

The host country chooses between 12 and 14 different sports for their games from this list:

  • Archery
  • Athletics
  • Badminton
  • Basketball
  • Bowls
  • Cycling

  • Football
  • Golf
  • Gymnastics
  • Judo
  • Sailing (incl. Windsurfing)

  • Shooting
  • Squash
  • Swimming
  • Table Tennis
  • Tennis
  • Triathlon

  • Volleyball

Medals table

A list of IGA members (including current and former members) by total gold medals earned. Where there is a tie, silver medals decide placement, then bronze. As of 2011, every nation that has participated in the Island Games has won at least one medal.

Island Games medal count
Pos Country 1 2 3 Total
1  Jersey 418 408 387 1203
2  Isle of Man 343 333 353 1029
3  Guernsey 335 349 363 1047
4  Gotland 208 173 170 551
5  Faroe Islands 162 155 183 500
6  Åland 153 160 134 447
7  Isle of Wight 150 138 182 470
8  Cayman Islands 65 44 49 158
9  Saaremaa 60 72 71 203
10  Bermuda 56 54 64 174
11  Iceland 50 45 41 136
12  Rhodes 50 43 43 136
13  Gibraltar 44 48 74 166
14  Shetland Islands 37 52 81 170
15  Minorca 28 25 33 86
16  Orkney 19 31 37 87
17  Ynys Môn 19 30 38 87
18  Greenland 15 19 26 58
19  Prince Edward Island 6 6 9 21
20  Malta 6 2 2 10
21  Western Isles 3 5 13 21
22  Sark 2 8 6 16
23  Falkland Islands 1 5 11 17
24  Hitra 1 2 0 3
25  Frøya 1 1 2 4
26  Alderney 0 2 3 5
27  Saint Helena 0 0 2 2

From 2001, competitors from islands with a population of fewer than 10,000 (Alderney, Falklands, Frøya, Hitra, St. Helena and Sark), also compete for Gold, Silver and Bronze 'Small Island Certificates', with restrictions that Silver is only awarded if at least 3 compete, and Bronze only if at least 4 compete.

External links

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