THE Island’s swimming pools need major investment to support the “thousands of kids” inspired by Commonwealth Games gold medallist Filip Nowacki, the politician with responsibility for sport has said.
And Senator Serena Kersten suggested that the government needs to be open to private-public partnerships with regards to sporting facilities to ensure young Islanders have access to modern spaces and to support a potential hosting bid for the 2035 Island Games.
Senator Kersten, a former England netball captain who has regularly spoken in the past about the lack of suitable space for her sport, was appointed an Assistant Economic Development Minister following her successful election bid in June, and has since been charged with overseeing arts, heritage and culture as well as sport.
She said Jersey’s swimming infrastructure is in need of upgrading, particularly given an anticipated surge in interest following 18-year-old Nowacki’s accomplishments in Glasgow, where he became the first Commonwealth Games gold medallist for Jersey in 36 years.
Senator Kersten, herself a Commonwealth Games champion having won netball gold while representing England in 2018, said: “I think there is a general understanding that we do need to invest in pool infrastructure in the Island. There isn’t currently a 50-metre pool, for example, which is what someone like a Filip would need to be able train properly if he was over here.”
She added that it was imperative for the Island to “future-proof” its sporting infrastructure more broadly ahead of Jersey potentially hosting the Island Games in 2035 – a bid which was first mentioned in Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham’s Investing in Jersey strategy last year.
“That gives us an opportunity as a government to set up a North Star strategy of; how we are upgrading our infrastructure and future-proofing it to enable elite athletes to use these facilities?
“As Sports Minster I will certainly be pushing to upgrade our facilities so we can use them both from a community perspective, but also if any athletes are back on the Island and are wanting to train here.”
Senator Kersten was speaking after Nowacki’s former coach and Team Jersey’s Commonwealth swimming lead, Nathan Jegou said it was important that the Island invests significantly in its ageing sporting infrastructure.
“Hopefully one of the bigger and wider issues the Island can sort out is facilities”, he told the JEP following Nowacki’s gold medal in the 200m breaststroke on Tuesday. “We are in danger of missing out on many other athletes like Filip because the infrastructure is not keeping up with the rest of the world.”
In response, Senator Kersten suggested that the government “needs to be more open to public-private partnership” when it comes securing investment.
“I would also love to see – and if I’ve spoken about it before – if there are any glasshouse sites that would provide good spaces to potentially put in new sports infrastructure,” she said.
“It is about understanding what needs to be put in place so we can unlock some of the other facilities across the Island, as well as considering whether we actually need something new – especially as we head towards an Island Games.”
The Senator, who is also an Assistant Minster for both education and infrastructure, made the case that better sporting facilities would be conducive to a healthier future for children in Jersey.
“Filip has just probably gone on and inspired another few thousands of kids to go and get in the pool”, she said.
“That counts for something – it counts for something when it comes to health, when it comes to education. How we are teaching our kids and what opportunities are available for them to actually get involved in different types of sport?
“When you’ve got athletes like Filip putting the Island on the map, you have to think that there are going to be maybe five, six, seven more Filips across the next 50, 60 or 70 years.
“[But] generally, if you build it, they will come. So if you provide it, and you provide the athletes with a good level of coaching and high levels of facilities and access, then the likelihood of producing another Filip goes up significantly.”
