This in from the council, in their own words. Ed
Sixteen of the Isle of Wight’s most promising young athletes will be heading to Italy shortly to compete in the annual World Island Youth Games.
This year, the competition is being held in the Mediterranean island of Sicily between 24-29 May and the Isle of Wight will be taking part in three sports.
These will be sailing, swimming and athletics, with the team looking to build on last year’s record breaking medal haul of nine medals.
Wishing the team luck
David Pugh, IW Council Leader is hoping the team do the best they can, saying “The World Youth Games are a great opportunity for the Isle of Wight’s young athletes to experience the feel of a major competition and I wish them the best of luck.
“With the Isle of Wight also hosting the NatWest Island Games next month, this is a prestigious sporting time for the Island and I look forward to following their progress.”
The team are being supported by Wightlink and the Youth Opportunities Fund.
Others taking part
Other islands taking part in the competition include Jersey, Majorca, Malta, Crete and Sardinia. This year’s event is supported by tennis world number one Rafael Nadal, who competed in the competition for Majorca in 2001, unsurprisingly winning gold.
This will be the eighth time the Isle of Wight has competed in the games, with many athletes going on to represent the Isle of Wight in other international competitions. Several previous team members will be representing the Isle of Wight in this year’s NatWest Island Games.
Last year during the competition held in the Azores in Portugal, the Isle of Wight took home three gold, three silver and three bronze medals in what was the team’s best ever performance.
Image: Poiseon Bild & Text under CC BY 2.0
