BLUE ISLANDS SPECIAL
JERSEY’S sporting community has been left reeling in the wake of Blue Islands’ suspension of operations. With the impact already being felt through the postponement of multiple Inter-Insular clashes, as well as valuable funds lost, there’s nothing but uncertainty for the future.
One of the biggest dates in the local football calendar, the under-21 Muratti, has been one of the many sporting events to fall victim, which was postponed after being scheduled to take place tomorrow at Victoria Park.
Football
The Jersey squad, coaching team, and an assistant referee had been due to travel to Guernsey with Blue Islands on a day-return.
The Jersey Football Association said that alternatives – such as flying via the UK, using flights put on by Logan Air and Aurigny, and travel by sea – were all considered but that none worked logistically for the fixture to go ahead.
Jersey Football Association chief executive Tim Pryor said: “First and foremost, the Jersey FA’s thoughts are with all those staff affected by the demise of Blue Islands.
“We’ve worked closely with the airline over so many years and we send the staff our best wishes.
“We worked late into the night and through the early hours of this morning to find a suitable travel solution, but without success.”
He added: “It’s really disappointing for the players who had enjoyed an excellent week of preparation at Springfield and would have been looking forward to the challenge of getting a result over at Victoria Park.
“Our thanks to Guernsey FA for their understanding. We’ll now work with the Inter-Insular Committee on next steps for this match.”
Head Coach Jack Cannon was disappointed that the fixture couldn’t go ahead, commenting: “It’s a little bit disappointing and frustrating for us, as we’ve put so much preparation into this game, but you can’t really do much about an airline collapsing.
“The Guernsey FA have been so understanding at this time, so it’s really a case of everyone having to re-group, look to reschedule the fixture and go again.”
Existing tickets will be valid for the new date for the game, but supporters who require a refund can email info@victoriapark.gg.
Hockey
Jersey Hockey Club have also found themselves in a tricky situation, with the postponement of the Ladies Over-35 Inter-Insular, originally scheduled to take place earlier today, among many issues thrown their way in light of the airline’s collapse.
With the highly-anticipated match set to occur at the Jersey Hockey Club, the local airline’s suspension of operations meant that Guernsey’s squad were unable to make the trip over.
Aside from the Inter-Island clash being an important occasion in itself, the local club were planning to use this special contest to unveil and launch their new sponsors, Capital International, only adding to the disappointment.
James Wetherall, President of the Jersey Hockey Club, went on to say: “To have the Over-35 Inter-Insular cancelled today is of course a big disappointment for the club. We had a full day planned out, we were expecting busy crowds and our new sponsorship was going to be launched, so it’s a shame that it’s all been postponed.”
This has come as a big blow to the Hockey Club, as many fixtures planned for the future have also been thrown into question, presenting bigger problems going forward.
“Blue Islands’ collapse does bring a longer-term impact for us, as we had several Under-14 and Under-16 fixtures planned, which now have the possibility of not going ahead. We’ve already spent £2,500 in deposits for flights, all paid on invoice, but after looking at our travel insurance policy, it seems pretty clear that we’re not covered in this situation,” Weatherall continued.
“All this does is leave us with loads of uncertainty, we’re in the unknown as our volunteers are working hard to try find alternatives.
“Off-Island travel has always been a big topic of discussion in local sport, and this just goes to show that we’ve been reliant on a pretty fragile system of travel, which raises big concerns for the future.”
Netball
Meanwhile, the Evelyn Partners Jets have already felt the effects, as former England star and Performance Lead Serena Kersten described the team as being left “in a bit of a predicament”.
“It leaves us in a bit of a predicament to be honest, as we’ve already put deposits down. We don’t know what it means for us, whether we’ll be able to recover some of that money,” said Kersten.
“We’ve already had to scale back massively this year in terms of the opportunities we can offer our athletes that they need to keep progressing due to travel costs. It’s already been quite a difficult year for us, so to now have this, that leaves us feeling slightly uncertain.
It’s not just the senior side that’s been affected, as the Under-14s found themselves unable to liaise with Kersten’s team in the UK, resulting in the junior squad missing out on “what would have been a brilliant opportunity” to play their first club games this season.
More in the JEP’s Blue Islands fall-out special e-edition out tonight.
