No medals, but praise for Falklands competitors in Island Games

By Patrick Watts (General Team Manager)
July 2005

The Falklands team at the 11th NatWest Island Games, staged on the Shetland Islands, produced a string of positive results which fully justified sending a squad of 31 competitors.

The football team pulled off one of the major shocks in Island Games history by defeating the larger and more experienced team from Saaremaa 2-1, and did not deserve to go down 2-1 to Aland. The young swimming team of Donna Triggs, Hannah Arthur-Almond, Thomas Burston and Edward Freer produced a string of personal bests, while 14 year old Lucas Biggs took 7 and 8 points off top rated players in the table tennis singles competition. In clay pigeon shooting Saul Pitaluga was just two clays away from a final six shoot-off position in the ABT Individual event.

With UK gun laws prohibiting pistol shooting in the Games and no full-bore range on Shetland, the Falklands chances of winning medals this time were limited. Thankfully both Rhodes in 2007 and Aland in 2009, hosts for the next two Games, will not be subjected to such stringent rulings.

With hotels and guest houses on the Shetlands limited, cruise vessels were brought in to meet the accommodation needs. The Falklands were based on the Van Gogh which was berthed alongside Lerwick pier, and hosted 750 competitors. Another ship the Athena accommodated a further 500. The remaining sportsmen and women stayed on-shore in community halls and schools.

Most of the Falklands team sailed from Tilbury, joining the ship in the wake of the London bombings. A downpour resulted in the Opening Ceremony on July 9 being curtailed by nearly two hours. Golfer Kevin Clapp representing the Falklands for the 6th time at the Games was given the honour of carrying the flag. Swimmer Thomas Burston, the youngest member of the team, was appointed 'water-carrier' for the traditional mixing of island waters.

Blue skies and a sunny afternoon on the following day brought an estimated 3,000 spectators to Gilbertson Park for the Shetlands v Falklands soccer games, which the home team won 4-0.

A rest day allowed the Falklands team time to recover and a journey to the village of Strom on the following day, brought a magnificent victory over the Estonian island of Saaremaa, which is situated in the Baltic sea and has a population of over 40,000. The Estonians unwisely rested a few of their best players, believing that victory over the Falklands was assured, having already taken four points from their first two games. A 2nd minute penalty by Martyn Clarke put the Falklands ahead, but within a minute of the kick-off in the 2nd half, Saaremaa equalised.

As the tension mounted and with time running out substitute Wayne Clement ran into a header from 'Spurs' Henry and left two defenders for dead. His accurate low shot slid past the bemused Saaremaa goalkeeper and into the net. It was unfortunate for the fans back home that a power-cut prevented the few final minutes of live commentary and a description of the victory celebrations, being heard. The Saaremaa players were extremely upset by their loss, which shattered any chances they had of winning a medal, and their anger was taken out on the dressing room doors and walls!

The following day, having decided previously that chances of victory over the powerful Isle of Man team was almost an impossibility, Team Manager Chris Clarke rested some of his 1st teamers and gave the reserves an opportunity to play. The final score of 9-0 for the Isle of Man just about reflected the balance of play. It would have been quite disappointing for some members of the squad had they not been given an opportunity to play, considering the extensive training programme in Stanley which they had undertaken during the previous seven months, and Chris Clarke's decision to stick to his plan has to be respected.

The game against Aland, another Baltic sea island, belonging to Finland, but where the population of 45,000 speak Swedish, brought despair and frustration with Aland wining the game 2-1.

A game against the Orkney Islands, 5th placed team in Group Two, would now decide 9/10th places. It would be difficult to write anything in favour of the Scottish referee who took charge of the game against Orkney on the small field at Sandwick and it was the Orkneys who ran out 2-0 winners, snatching ninth place in the competition.

All who saw the Falklands team play in Shetland praised their fitness, endeavour and team-work. In particular the pairing of Douglas Clarke and Bill Chater was described by some experts as, 'the best defensive duo on the parks'. The team members themselves picked out Adam Glanville as their top man, given his ability to get down the wings and run non-stop for 90 minutes.

The Football Club under Chairman Chris Clarke proudly raised more than £30,000 from various fund-raising activities and the local pools in their build-up to the Shetland games. It may take another four years and the 2009 Games in Aland before a similar effort can be expected.

The swimming team, under the guidance of Pam Freer, performed above expectations in the pool, and all achieved personal bests in a variety of events over the four days of competition. With a more relaxed atmosphere prevailing than at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Australia some eight months previously, the Falklands swimmers enjoyed the friendly and supportive approach of the other teams.

Edward Freer started the ball rolling in the 100 metres breastroke, finishing 18th in a time of 1 minute 24.38 seconds. Donna Triggs knocked 5 seconds off her personal best in the 200 metres freestyle, breaking the Falklands record by 32 seconds. Hannah Arthur-Almond took seconds off her personal best in the 50 metres butterfly, while Thomas Burston cut back his personal best in the 200 metres freestyle. Edward Freer improved his 50 metres breastroke time to 38.69 while Donna Triggs bettered her Isle of Man games time by 2 seconds in the 100 metres backstroke.

The following day Donna got ever closer to Claire Kilmartin's Falklands best of 31.58 in the 50 metres freestyle when she recorded a time of 33.75, but Hannah Arthur-Almond's time of 32.54 is now less than 1 second off the Falklands record in this event. Both Edward and Thomas recorded impressive times in the 100 metres freestyle taking 3 seconds off their personal bests, while Edward cut his 50 metres freestyle time by a second to 30.13. In the 50 metres backstroke Donna went under 40 seconds for the first time with 39.82 while Hannah's 40.22 bettered her personal bet by a massive 3 seconds.

The friendly spirit of the Island Games was never more apparent than on the final day when the Jersey coach assisted the Falklands swimmers, and offered some helpful coaching hints which were gratefully accepted by Swimming Team Manager Pam Freer and the team. Pam said she was "highly delighted" by the times, which were a result of the "dedication and training put in by all four swimmers prior to leaving the Falklands." The Falklands are slowly closing the gap on the faster swimmers in the Island Games.

The golf team found the courses at Dale and on the island of Whalsey tougher than anticipated and Glenn Ross's four-round Falklands record score of 322, achieved in Guernsey two years ago, was never in danger of being broken. The overall team score of 1118 saw the Falklands finish in 13th and last place, some 48 points behind St. Helena.

Individually Kevin Clapp produced the best score with 361 and 47th place from a field of 53. Whalsey proved his undoing with scores of 101 and 95. Kevin's best gold came at Dale where he recorded 895, parring the last three holes, and an excellent 80, spoiling what could have been a better return with 7 on the final hole. He began the final round with an impressive birdie, par on the first three holes.

Peter Bagley was the only Falklands player to keep a three figure individual score off his card, with rounds of 95, 93, 94, 90. Peter birdied the first hole on his Island Games debut. Rod Tuckwood's final aggregate was 399, with a best round of 91 when he birdied the 16th, while Steve Vincent was philosophically celebrating his best round of 99 at Dale, which saw him end on 427.

For the first time the Falklands had a competitor in the table tennis tournament. Young Lucas Biggs overcame a nervy start in the singles and pushed several of his opponents. His nervousness was apparent in the first game as he went down 4-11, 3-11, 2-11 to Bengt Klindqvist of Aland. Lucas picked up his game and began playing to the best of his ability, before losing 5-11, 8-11, 7-11 to Roger Hookey of the Isle of Wight. In his final game Lucas was edged out in three sets by Dylan De Silva of Orkney 6-11, 3-11, 7-11.

Having just seriously taken up the sport six months ago, Lucas can feel proud of his performance. He has now experienced the international stage and so will be better prepared in two years time when the 2007 games are held in Rhodes (Greece).

Ben Watson surprised even his closest friends by winning six points in the first round of badminton singles. He went down 15-2, 15-4 to the highly rated Bjartur Lamhauge of the Faroe Islands. The Badminton Club was unable to send a team, so Ben teamed up with Anna Luxton the team physiotherapist, in order to savour the competitive atmosphere and compete in the mixed doubles. They went down 15-3, 15-1 to a pair from the Isle of Man. Ben, who only entered the tournament for a bit of fun, was so taken by the atmosphere and support, that he now plans to train seriously for the 2007 Games.

Clay pigeon shooting conditions at Blackgaet were the most difficult ever experienced at an Island Games, with swirling mist and fog greeting the shooters on most days. Most scores were 5 to 6 less than would normally have been expected.

Saul Pitaluga's score of 126 in the ABT individual, recorded in the Isle of Man in 2001, would have been good enough to win the gold medal in Shetland, where Peter Kelly took the top prize with 125. Saul's score this time in Shetland was just two clays short of a top six shoot-off for the gold, silver and bronze. His final score of 90 saw him finish in 8th place. Once again, Saul proved to be up there with the best in the clay pigeon events.

Graham Didlick, who has won an incredible 11 medals in pistol events in previous Games, was considerably further back on 59 and 19th place.

Steve Dent, representing the Falklands for the first time, returned a credible 73 in the Individual Olympic Trench, with scores of 11, 15, 18, 13, 16 and 19th position. Graham Didlick finished in 22nd position with 60.

The Falklands trio ended up ninth out of fifteen teams in the English Sporting Men's team event with a score of 121, while in the Individual event Steve Dent hit 43 for a finishing position of 21st, ahead of shooters from Gibraltar, Faroes and Western Isles.

The 2005 NatWest Island Games once again provided a welcome public relations opportunity for the Falklands. BBC2 screened highlights of the Games. The Falklands General Team Manager was interviewed along with managers from St. Helena and Bermuda by BBC Radio Scotland on the opening day. Two young swimmers Hannah Arthur-Almond and Edward Freer appeared on the same radio station later in the week.

The Falklands Manager was also interviewed by BBC TV Scotland, Radio 5 Live and Jersey Radio. The widely read Glasgow Herald newspaper, despite having the attraction of the Open golf championships at St. Andrews, surprisingly devoted its back page to the Island Games and the Falklands in particular.

The Falklands team were encouraged by many supporters, some of whom travelled all the way from the Falklands, and others who reside in the UK. All who went to Shetland expressed their gratitude to the people of the Falklands for their support in raising money over the past two years, and to elected Councillors for their continued financial backing, and to those individuals and companies who sponsored team track suits and strips.

First published in the Penguin News on 22 July 2005 and reproduced with the kind permission of the Editor

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