The youngest member of Guernsey’s Island Games Badminton squad will be the island’s water carrier in Orkney this summer while veteran triathlete Amy Critchlow will be the flag bearer.
The pair were chosen out of the whole of Team Guernsey to represent the island on the International Island Games stage at the opening ceremony next month.
The traditional roles involve leading Team Guernsey into the arena, before the water collected from Bordeaux Harbour yesterday is poured into a fountain that will run throughout the Games week.
Medha Vallapureddy is 14-years-old and preparing for her first Island Games, while Critchlow is 46 and plans for this to be her fifth and final Games.
The pair were showing off their new Team Guernsey kit yesterday while the water was collected from Bordeaux.
At 14 Medha is the youngest member to be selected for this year’s badminton squad.
She’s been playing her sport since she was seven, and first represented Guernsey in an Under 19 inter-insular match when she was just nine.
Medha has since represented the island at county level for the last two seasons.
So far in 2025, Medha has already won eight gold medals in singles, doubles, and mixed badminton tournaments at under 17 age group in Guernsey and on the Badminton England tournament circuit, most notably winning Gold at the prestigious Warwickshire event in April.
The Guernsey Island Games Association has praised Medha for her “biggest achievement to date” which was being crowned Senior Island Women’s Singles Champion in Guernsey in December 2024.
Medha is the highest ranked player in the badminton competition in Orkney this summer, and GIGA said “it’s hoped Orkney will be the first of many Team Guernsey island games for her”.
Guernsey’s flag bearer already has five Island Games under her belt, and insists this will be her last as a competitor.
Amy Critchlow has won team medals at every Games she has contested, and in Guernsey 2023 she achieved the significant personal milestone of claiming her first individual medal – a bronze – alongside Guernsey’s team gold.
She is a member of the triathlon event management team and coaches other triathletes.
GIGA says “Amy’s contributions to the sport go far beyond competition, she runs the junior section of the Guernsey Triathlon club nurturing the next generation of triathletes as well as leading Tri-a-Tri Guernsey which organises the popular novice triathlons. These have been a launchpad for a number of island games athletes including Megan Chapple, Chantal Green, Chloe Truffit, Hannah Kennedy, David Moseley, Chris Norman, Ethan Woodhead and many more.
“Amy gives a huge amount of time and energy to her sport. Her dedication, leadership and inspiring attitude make her the perfect person to lead out this year’s Guernsey team at the Island Games in Orkney.”