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With the opening ceremony of the 17th Natwest Island Games in Gotland today, Express takes a look at the week ahead and what Jersey can expect from the 220 athletes competing in this year's event.
Jersey topped the table at the 2015 Island Games and despite being known as the friendly games, they will be aiming to defend their title this year.
The Opening Ceremony is due to take place today where the 220 strong Team Jersey, being sponsored by Jersey Post, will celebrate the opening of the Games alongside 23 other teams.
Jersey is the most successful team in the Games’ history, however with younger islanders making their way onto the team following the departure of some more well-known stars, it is questionable whether the team will bring home the quantity of medals that they did in 2015 where they topped the board with 133 medals.
Following the ceremony today, the team will compete across the next week in 14 different sports and Express has the breakdown for you…
The Jersey Archery team may be missing Lucy O’Sullivan as she sets her sites on a World Championships but the team are hoping to continue to build on their triumph of the 2015 Games and Guernsey are set to be their biggest competitors.
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Whilst some athletes are returning to defend their medal titles, the Jersey Athletics squad is full of fresh new blood at this Games.
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The islands’ badminton team are returning to the Games to defend their 2015 Gold medal title with the help of some new arrivals to the squad.
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The basketball teams are full of spirit as they prepare to compete in Gotland, despite a smaller team than usual and whilst many of them have Island Game experience, the teams will be hoping to add some medals to the Basketball history books.
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Jersey’s cycling team is looking strong and with plenty of past medal winners returning to compete in this years games, Jersey seems on track for medal success.
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Whilst the Jersey Women have new coaches and new players offering them a fresh start at this years Island games, the Jersey Mens will be heading onto the pitch wanting to dominate after their defeat in the Muratti.
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With four previous medal winners accompanying four new golf players, the Jersey golf squad have both plenty of new blood, and plenty of experience to put up a strong fight against the competition in Gotland.
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The sport was left off of the schedule at the last games in Jersey in 2015 so the 13 islanders traveling to Gotland as part of the gymnastics team this year will be hoping to show of the Island’s talent to the crowds in Scandinavia.
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With no clay target shooting on the schedule and a significantly smaller shooting squad than 2015, the shooting competitors will have a tough time matching their past success of 39 medals in this years Games.
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Jersey’s swimming team swept up in the 2015 games, however with some Island swimmers missing out due to the Commonwealth Games semi-finals, the Team Jersey swim team returns this year with some new blood and high hopes.
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The six-player strong squad is a perfect balance of old and new as three of the players make their Island Games debut, whilst three others return to build on their past medal success.
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Jersey’s tennis squad for the Gotland Island Games is a true mix of new and old as Jeremy Cross (41) returns to the Island Games stage for the 8th time whilst Antonija Sokic (15) will make her Island Games debut.
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In 2015, Jersey’s triathlon team won three out of the four gold medals on offer. This year, 10 islanders return to build on their success.
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Jerseys four volleyball teams are a mix of experience and youth with the Kristina Sokic (17) being the youngest member of the squad. She’ll play alongside, Wendy Burnett (54) who is the most senior member of the team and returning for her fifth Island Games.
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Check out when your favourite sports are scheduled to take place here and keep track on Team Jersey’s medal progress here.
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