JERSEY’S bowlers aim to fly the flag high in Orkney, as team manager Kevin Le Long, Michael Rive and Josh Band take to the green in the lawn bowls.
This is a fairly fresh team making the trip north, as Le Long and Band will be competing in Island Games bowls for the first time. However, experience is one thing they don’t lack, as both have competed at the top-level.
“I haven’t played Island Games before, but in the 30 years I’ve been playing bowls, I’ve won British Championships and a silver at last year’s European competition. 18 months ago, I even went to the World Bowls in Australia, which is a huge event,” said Le Long.
“So, I may not have played at the games before, but I’ve played in virtually every other competition you can in bowls, and have always come out with my head held high.”
“Michael’s (Rive) won British Championships, and European medals as well, so we have the talent here. Jersey, as a very small nation for bowls, always pull their way.”
Although Band is fresh to the squad, this isn’t an entirely new experience for him, already hitting these heights and beyond in table tennis: “For table tennis, I’ve played in three Island Games and one Commonwealth Games.”
“Being realistic, Commonwealth Games was the highest level I could get. To reach the next step, which was too far for me, I would have had to put everything in and leave Jersey.”
“After five or six years out of sport, where I focused on other things, I got the competitive edge back, came down to try bowls and the rest is history, now playing my third season.”
As he reached some of table tennis’ highest peaks, Band has been able to transfer certain skills from the table to the lawn: “Weirdly, to me, it feels like the same sort of action. For example, when you play a hard topspin shot, it’s more of a drive in bowls.”
Rive is the lone competitor returning from Guernsey 2023’s line-up, where he won bronze in the Open Singles, as well as Team Jersey’s bronze medals in the Open Pairs and triples.
However, certain events greatly affected the outcome, as Rive explained: “I went in expecting to do well, but I tore my meniscus the week before. I managed to play through the week and end up with bronze medals, but lost against Guernsey in both semi-finals.”
“Guernsey was also a very fast indoor surface, which caused complications as we came straight from our outdoor season, and both are completely different.”
“It’s almost like telling a five-a-side team they have to play 11-a-side at a moment’s notice, so it’s a completely different game. But, as we’re going from outdoor to another outdoor surface, hopefully we’ll come away with a better result.”
For all the ability in the world, poor team chemistry usually results in disappointment. That couldn’t be a more distant thought for this group though, as they work together incredibly well.
“We have confidence in each other, I’ve been playing with Michael since he was a kid, so we know each other very well,” Le Long continued.
“As a team, we’re quite a close-knit group. Neither of us would blame each other for anything, I always try to encourage everybody as much as I can. We will always have each other’s back no matter what, that’s just how we work.”
Competition will take place over a variety of formats. After Gozo’s withdrawal, seven nations will battle it out for gold, according to Le Long.
Singles will see each competitor play four bowls, with the winner of each game being the first to reach 21 shots.
Two competitors, a lead and a skip, will play four bowls each in the pairs, with the lead playing first and then the skip, as defined in the IIGA laws.
Triples will then see a lead, second and skip grace the surface, with play dictated by the IIGA laws as well.
Preparation has been intense in the build-up to the Island Games, as Jersey’s jam-packed bowls season has provided more than enough playing time, with each athlete having a different approach.
While Le Long prefers to play as many matches as possible, saying he’s already played “near 100 games” so far this season, Rive limits his competitive outings and substitutes his own sessions in, saying: “With a game of fours, you might only play 36 balls in a three-hour period, whereas, if I do my own session, I could play 100 balls in around 40 minutes, so it’s all about managing time.”
Band has also been consistent, playing weekly to “keep ticking over”.
All in all, Jersey are going into Orkney with plenty of confidence in their approach, as stated by Rive: “We’re expecting at least two or three medals. Of course, we want to enjoy the experience, but we’re not going there just to make up the numbers.
“We’re going in thinking we should be the favourites, or at least up there, so if we don’t return with medals it’ll be disappointing.”
“It’s always an honour to represent Jersey and fly the flag high, which is what we’ll give our all to do to our best ability.”
