Day 8 – Friday: Post 2
After 1 hour 10 minutes Nick and Sarah beat the Cayman team 2-1 15/14 in the 3rd. Translated out of squash speak, a very tense final to the last point. For the Jersey squash team the event couldn’t have had a better ending. I think I’m right in saying in terms of gold medals won (although obviously it’s the taking part that counts) the squash team were the most successful Jersey team … I only mention this because when Jersey hosts the Island games in 2015, squash is currently not included.
Day 8 – Friday: Post 1
Last day of competition and my first day off, just as well we didn’t get in till 3 am. Sarah and Nick, who were home long before 3, are already in the finals of the mixed doubles and are looking like the favorites for gold. Sarah’s on auto pilot and will be relieved when the final is over. She’s done amazingly, fueled on a concoction of anti-inflammatory, pain killers, recovery drinks and various ointments she’s made it through 16 matches in six days. Paul, the sports masseur, Morag and team have become her new best friends (as I’m sure has been the case for many people here). I think for Bermuda it’s the medics you need as the bloggers, there’s nothing they don’t know. Anyway one last match for Sarah and Nick and then, hopefully, with even another cause for celebration, on to the party!
The volunteers and locals have unquestionably been the highlight of the event. They can’t do enough for the teams whether it’s giving lifts or advice or, in most cases, just making you feel welcome. On day one, while waiting for the bus we met Ted, a life long Southampton supporter. The gate to his house is next to the no.3 bus stop and he has waited for us every morning without fail just to have a chat and show us his football memorabilia of which there is a considerable amount (the boys could tell you more). This morning we arrived a little later and more disheveled than usual and he was waiting, in his usual Southampton T-shirt, with a bag of homemade scones for us. Not the wildest strory I know, and I suspect you have to be here, but Ted and a host of other characters are what’s made it for us.
It’s been a strange week and seems to have sped up as it’s gone on. The atmosphere has changed over the last few days. We’re all existing in a bit of a bubble and quite happily so. As events are finishing people are able to move around to watch other sports and socialise more. I think in previous games it felt as though the population of the host island has doubled and you can’t go anywhere without meeting other shellsuit wearers. The size of the Isle of Wight and the the fact that the venues are so spread out has meant thats it’s absorbed the event rather than being taken over by it. You can, however, find pockets of competitors as was the case at the Italian restaurant last night, which was packed full of Jersey and Aland teams. There are few other occasions when unable to find space at a table with the people you came in with you have three other offers of a seat from different groups. It was a good night last night in Shanklin and a warm up for the closing party tonight.
First though the mixed doubles final and another medal for Jersey….
Day 7 – Thursday
Boys just off court so this is hot off the press. Gold for Jersey in both men’s and women’s doubles! First early finish of the week so off to the sea, meant to be good for the muscles.
Quick update on today as bit fast and furious with doubles – but both men and women through to the final…which is now!
Day 6 – Wednesday
It’s hard to follow on from the onion … hopefully there will be a another guest appearance before the end of the week which is fast approaching now.
Another great day for Jersey at the squash centre. The team has added another three to the medal tally. Gold for Nick, Silver for Sarah and a Bronze for Mike – fantastic results and squash. I finished fourth – never a great position, but just beaten by better players on the day so no complaints. The finals were, as expected, some of the best squash seen so far and no one gave up without a fight despite (at this stage) screaming muscles even on seemingly unused left arms. Two more days to go!
Rob’s the untold story with another five-set victory to finish off his tournament. The referees all now come to support him, The turning point in all his matches seem to come with a change of t shirt but then I was sold a hologram for balance so perhaps I read to much into the these things. He beat the the youngest man (18) in the tournament to secure fifth position over all, 2 places up from where he finished 6 years ago in Shetland….evolution accelerated he was right. All that said he’s happy to take at least a few days off now and concentrate on his dancing.
Good night out at the Mad Cow in Shanklin with the other squash teams. It’s bit bizzare walking into a pub in the Isle of Wight and feeling like you’re part of the cast of cheers. Quite nice to be out of the shell suit for a night. The Jersey volleyball team were welcome gate crashers and the referees were happy to be off duty for the night. Again for those of us playing tomorrow it was all relatively well behaved and I left just after 12. For the others the infamous cabin no.10 house a Caribbean party which may still be going on.
Day 5 – Tuesday
We all got through the first round of the individuals but it was all about Rob’s win over Guernsey no.1 Ben Rosec. He came storming back from 2-0 down despite been written off by the referee, not his first dubious call of the day. It was a big win and it meant a lot to him and us for that matter.
In the second round Rob went out to the number 3 seed who will play Mike in the semis at 9 am tomorrow. Nick is in the other semi against the Cayman no.1. Myself and Sarah are also through to the semi finals against each other. On the positive side it’s a guaranteed silver for Jersey but it’s no fun playing your team mate. We’re sharing a twin room at the moment and just about to go to bed after another failed attempt at an early night, the men can’t understand why we’ve not opted for separate rooms before the match but we’ll be catching the bus to the club together and sharing a bag.
Whatever happens there will be a least one more medal for Jersey by the end of tomorrow but we’re in with a good chance of more.
As we’ve spent the day at the club there’s not much more I can tell you. We’ve seen the footage from last night’s football game and there’s certainly a lot of people talking about it here. It’s so at odds with the atmosphere here, everyone seems in favour of the ban. I was talking earlier with one of the medics who was at the game, they said it was just embarrassing to watch but that they had been very impressed with the way the Jersey team handled themselves, so not all bad.
I’ll hand you over to Rob for his take on the day off the squash court….
Bunyan the Onion. Guest blogger. Raconteur. Wit. Preacher. Named after John.
I like to travel on the top deck of buses and the double decker is the preferred mode of transport in the Isle of Wight. Free bus passes laid on for competitors and guests, like me. Mine keeps slipping off though. There’s no obvious place for an onion to wear his. An absence of neck and shoulders is the principal problem.
The top deck is a viewing platform, meeting place and social club. As we board the 901am the place is alive with anticipation of what’s to come and anecdotes of the day before. Unfortunately for the sailors and windsurfers not much had happened and not much was about to happen. Heaven knows there’s been a lot of wind talked in the Isle Of Wight, but not much has blown. The windsurfers need force 4 to hit the water and have been beached. The sailors have been poised to go but the light winds have been changing direction and scuppering plans for a race. So bad luck for those guys.
I hollered out to the Gotland badminton players and Aland tennis lot, “what gives brothers?” A couple of grunts in response. These boys were really down at mouth. “Hey kids I’m a chatty fella looking for news. Come on, engage. EM Forster might have said ‘only connect’. These are the friendly chirpy games. Get with it.” At times like this I turn to my ‘break the ice’ gags. I was in Gotland recently for a wedding, I said. I knew it was Gotland because all the guests sat on the same side of the church. I dropped into Aland too. While I was there I met the town intellectual. He’d mastered the art of breathing without moving his lips. Of course they warmed to me. The cause of their bad humour was nothing more than frustration at slightly poor results.
The Jersey squash crowd are not only top deck, they’re top drawer. Team gold is just the for starters, man, says the lippy Scott Gautier. (He finishes most sentences with ‘man’. I’ve let it go for now, but jeez I’m an onion and it grates.) We’re gonna nail the singles events and just wait for the doubles. Man. (urgh, agh) But to give him his due, Jersey’s boys and girls are looking in good shape for more golds in the squash, man. Argh, he’s got me doing it now.
I’m on my way home now, and the day’s voyage of discovery is nearly over. But the Isle of Wight is full of surprises and as we approach the camp site I glance out of the window and notice a life size statue of Arnie the Terminator in the front garden of a terraced house in Shanklin. This is my kinda place.
I’m munching through my jacket potato now, the vitamin B working its way slowly into my tissues. What a cracking day I’ve had. But as a thinker I can’t leave it there and as I hit the sack I ask myself two questions: what is occasional furniture the rest of the time; and what do gardeners do when they retire?
There’s nothing like top entertainment; and this has been nothing like top entertainment. Normal service resumed soon.
Day 4 – Monday (Post 2)
We won Team Gold! All very pleased with ourselves. It was the Isle of Wight in the final with a big home crowd. They brought in some new players so it was a different team to the one we played yesterday and stronger. Some of the other Jersey competitors and medics came down to the centre, which balanced out the cheering and was very much appreciated. There were some great games.
Sarah, despite being on her fifth match, showed no sign of being tired, Rob lost 3-2 but it was so close and Nick as always was very impressive at 1, but it was a long game though. It’s an unusual format for a squash event and aimed at getting the maximum amount of games … can’t believe we’re not even half way through. We’ve become slightly obsessed with foam rollers and other bits of massage equipment, recovery pants (in the American sense of the word), tiger balm and deep heat.
Anyway, one day at a time. We celebrated in style last night at the campsite bar with a few other teams and then with a Chinese takeaway back at Cabin 10. Those not in the individuals carried on out but for Nick, Mike, Rob, Sarah and myself, it’s straight back in today with another two matches. The foam rollers are already out.
Day 4 – Monday
We’re just off court having beaten Guernsey 5-0 which was a great result as all very nervous about it this morning. The Jersey support was fantastic!
There’s been an upset in the other semi with Isle of Wight beating the Cayman 3-2. So we play the Isle of Wight in the final at 5 pm. Everyone’s obviously putting out their strongest teams but we are guaranteed a silver and in with a shot at gold.
Day 3 – Sunday (Post 2)
Happy to be finished for the day, we won our pool so we’re through to the semi finals against Guernsey in the morning. The matches tomorrow are going to be tough and the team event is the one that means the most; it’s not often you play as a team in squash.
Nick, our No 1, played in the match against the hosts which drew quite a crowd and he’ll be on for both matches tomorrow – what ever position we’re playing for. Mark Le Roux had the toughest games of the day and ended with a 3-2 win over the Bermudan no.2.
Having seen everyone play now it’s clear the Cayman Islands are one of the strongest teams – with a few former professionals amongst their ranks (which sounds intimidating until you remember we do too). There are some young teams here but Cayman are closer to us in terms of ‘experience’. Whether or not we play them, however, will depend on how we do against Guernsey.
We made it across to the badminton although left before there were any injuries, so our report was that it was all going well. I think it’s safe to say we know less than our families back home in terms of what’s happening over here. The badminton is based at a high school and the spectator viewing is not great but the atmosphere’s good. We’ll try and get back across there when we can throughout the week. It makes a big difference when other sports come down to support – it’s just a shame it’s not easier to get between venues (note to Jersey for 2015!). The Coombs-Goodfellows, Jersey Badminton/Squash players and former Island Games competitors, have come across for a few days which is very welcome support.
The Bermudans are already talking about the next Games, for which they are the hosts. There’s a lot of talk about expense but for some Islands most of the games cost the best part of £2,000 per competitor to get to. We just need to start fundraising earlier. Rob’s tried to trade the Bermudans one of their own team shell suits from the last games surprisingly, despite an impressive sales pitch, no takers.
Morag’s massage cabin is a hub of activity in the evenings (not how it sounds!). It’s definitely the place to be to catch up on all the results, injuries and dramas of the day with a steady stream of sunburnt competitors coming in with all the gossip from their sports. The more people we speak to the more we hear stories of 3 hour journeys and coaches not turning up. We’ve been blissfully unaware of all the transport problems in fact of any problems in general. The squash set up has been great. Buses door to door, a recently refurbished facility, 24 hour Tesco and a coffee shop next door…we’re easily pleased. We can hear the music from the night club at the moment but the bars are still quite empty as it’s early days in the competition, that will change over the next few days.
The highlight of Sarah’s day was the car boot sale in the squash centre car park, amongst other things she’s picked up a travel connect four game….good news for the return journey.
Day 3 – Sunday
First match played against Shetland and we all won.
Team
Mike Hopkins
Mark Le Roux
Scott Gautier
Sarah Taylor
Me
I know myself and Sarah were a bit nervous and it showed but the boys were fine. Caymen look very strong but they’re in the other pool with Guernsey so if we get through today we’ve got them tomorrow, by which point hopefully the nerves have died down a bit. Unfortunately we’re a bit cut off at the squash centre with no other sports near by. So not much else to report. Our supporters who were due to fly in today have had to cancel as the island’s under a blanket of fog and will be for the rest of the day.
Next matches start for us at 1:20
Day 2 – Saturday
A fantastic opening ceremony, the whole Island seemed to be involved. In fact the all day locals have been popping out from behind doors and bus shelters with welcomes and travel advice. Everyone just wants you to have a good time, like a multi generation freshers week. The street dancing and costumes were very impressive. It was hard to imagine the Caymen islanders being entertained by a british carnival but they loved it. There was more than one shout of ‘Work it baby’ as they captured the scene on video. It wasn’t only those in the carnival the streets were lined along the whole route for the opening ceremony with people on the pavements, waving flags in their gardens and cheering from top floor windows. I think the weather may have helped. We’ve not seen Neil again but the coach drivers in general seem the only ones to not be enjoying themselves…..at all. The transport has been the only thing we’ve heard any complaints about. The team event starts tomorrow for us, 3 matches with the first against Shetland at 10 am. The men are confident but for the women we’ve not got much to go on apart from how good their kit looks….not the most reliable gauge of talent. We’re seeded quite high so there’s a bit of pressure and personally I’m much happier as the under dog (never normally a problem). It’ll be good to get one match out of the way and settle in to the rest of the tournament, at least that’s the plan. The team event is 3 men and 2 women. Paul’s working out the playing order for the men and deciding who to rest. As we’ve only brought 2 women the only decision for us is how many changes of kit and knee straps to pack for the day.
Day 1 – Friday
When I was asked to write this blog I was concerned that writing from a caravan park in the Isle of Wight may not make for the most exciting reading. That this first post is about how it took the Jersey team 12 hours to get from Jersey to the caravan park may confirm this fear. That’s not really fair on the caravan park as it’s exactly this kind of accommodation that makes the games such a unique event, my other experiences being an army barracks in Gibraltar and a cruise ship in Shetland. So no negativity about the caravan. On to the journey…..
The Journey
There’s quite a few places you could reach from Jersey given 12 hours…..the Isle of Wight, it turns out, is one of them. A ferry, a coach, another ferry and another coach and having met at the Elizabeth terminal at 9 am this morning we arrived at the park at 9 pm. It was a good bonding experience for the team … at least the first few hours were. We were joined by team Guernsey and team Sark (12 members) though kept in separate sections of the boat. There was also time PLENTY of time to meet the media and catch up with other competitors.
I’ll spare you a detailed account of the rest of the journey, instead:-
Highs
– Rob’s travel connect four
– The discovery that the zips on our trousers go thigh high…unexpectedly exciting
– Neil the coach driver and his optimism
Lows
– Passing, practically skimming, the shores of the Isle of Wight on the first ferry journey on the way to Poole, knowing we wouldn’t arrive for another 5 hours.
– Months of healthy eating (anyone who knows me knows this is a slight exaggeration) undone in a single service station stop.
As soon as we arrived at the caravan park we started to see the coloured track suits of the other teams and remembered what a big deal this is to everyone here. Travel time aside, people seem on good form, we made it, the co op was still open and the caravan turned out to be a very spacious cabin so a happy ending to day 1. Our team, following a chicken stir fry in cabin no.9 are settled in for the night and looking forward to getting on court tomorrow.
I should also say that we are fully aware of the logistical nightmare of getting team Jersey plus equipment safely anywhere and appreciate the effort that has gone in to it. 7 days to prepare for the return journey.
