Athletes arrive in Orkney for Island Games

More than 250 athletes from Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney and Sark have travelled to Orkney to compete in the 20th Island Games.

The week-long event sees about 2,000 athletes from up to 24 islands compete in 12 different sports, including archery, sailing, swimming and gymnastics.

The competition will be officially opened later by Princess Anne, while an opening ceremony hosted by Lorraine Kelly will take place in Kirkwall.

Jersey sprinter Steven Mackay, who recently set the island's new 100m record, said he was "raring to go" for the games.

Mr Mackay said his journey from the Channel Islands had been relatively easy, with his final ferry from the north of mainland Scotland going quickly.

He said it was great to have Jersey's 100m sprint record but it was all in the past.

"We need to focus on the job that lies ahead throughout the week," he said.

Alexia Nascimento, 14, who is competing in the gymnastics for Guernsey, said the journey was "pretty good".

She arrived into Orkney on a ferry, which she said was long and a bit rough at the start, but improved towards the end.

Athletes are staying in accommodation across Orkney in permanent hotels, flatpack temporary hotels, Airbnb accommodation, college halls of residence and even in primary school rooms converted into dorms.

Ms Nascimento said staying in a converted classroom with fellow athletes from the Isle of Man could be "a bit awkward" but she was hopeful it would be a good experience.

Jersey swimmer Isaac Dodds said the accommodation was nothing the team could not handle.

"We stayed in the scouts' huts in Guernsey last time and we did really well there, so we're used to stuff like that," he said.

Orkney 2025 chairman Gordon Deans acknowledged accommodation had been difficult for the games organisers.

He said the island had been preparing to house athletes since its successful bid to host the event in 2018 and it had always maintained it would have a model of mixed rooms and facilities.

"It's been challenging certainly, we're the smallest island to host the games," he said.

Mr Deans said if people want the success of the games to continue with smaller islands as part then coordinators have to think carefully about how accommodation was organised.

He said small islands were good at taking on challenges and it was part of what they do.

"Islanders always have that mentality that we can achieve things well beyond what people think we can, and we've done it," he said.

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