This might not be my first Island Games, but it is definitely the most significant.
As a member of the Football Organisation Group and a volunteer for the Island Games, I am working to make the Orkney Games truly special.
I attended both the 2017 Games in Gotland and the 2023 Games in Guernsey and was an official with the Orkney Men’s Football squad both times.
Seeing the Games firsthand was a revolutionary moment for me.
So many people coming out in support of their community was a sight to behold, and now it is Orkney’s turn to get in on the action.
12,000 people paraded through St. Peter Port, the capital of Guernsey, after the opening ceremony, which cemented that party atmosphere that carried through during the Games themselves.
This is always a busy time of year for me because I’m normally fully involved with organising the football on Orkney.
Now I’m doing that on a much larger scale, helping to coordinate the allocation of pitches, liaising with clubs & suppliers to secure equipment & gear, and also using my organisational skills to assist with planning the training & match schedules.
The Island Games football is a mini-league round-robin format with the top team from each group progressing to a semi-final and a final, to decide the winner.
The Island Games have involved 18 months of planning so far, not bad when you consider they only last about a week!
Though the Games themselves are over all too soon, the impact they have lasts a lifetime.
I can still feel myself back in Guernsey or Gotland when I close my eyes, feeling the sense of community and celebration that are a core part of the Games.
I want as many people as possible to have that experience, so I would strongly advise anyone who can get down to the Games to do so.
You will not regret it, and it will change the way you see the world.
We are proud of our island culture, and the Island Games is the perfect celebration of that on a global scale.
With such a range of sports, you are bound to find something you love, and even if sports are not normally your thing, the atmosphere is something that you won’t want to miss.
I’m not biased, but the football is the best part of the Island Games!
We will be charting the Island Games, and the Scholes team’s contributions, as they unfold.
