International Island Games Association
The International Island Games Association (IGA) is an organization the sole purpose of which is to organise the Island Games, a friendly biennial athletic competition between teams from several islands and other small territories. The IGA liaises with the member island associations and with sponsors of the games. It investigates whether islands wanting to join fit the membership criteria. Any further additions since Menorca joined in 2005 will now require changes to the constitution.
The Island Games
The Island Games, began in 1985 as the 'Inter-Island Games' and as part of the Isle of Man International Year of Sport and were intended to be a one-off sporting celebration only. Geoffrey Corlett who became the first Games Director, contacted not only the Islands surrounding Great Britain but encouraged the Scandinavians, Greenland, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Saint Helena and others to participate. Initially 15 Islands, with 600 competitors and officials took part in 7 sports, with the total cost of staging the Games being put at 70,000 pounds. The track and field events were held on an 8 lane grass track, a far cry from actual games, and which now boasts a new synthetic track in a stadium capable of holding 10,000 spectators.[clarification needed] So successful were the Games of '85 that it was decided to hold a similar event 2 years later.
Members
The IGA was founded in the Isle of Man in 1985. Its members currently are:
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Game venues
| Year | Games | Host Island | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | I | Isle of Man | British crown dependency |
| 1987 | II | Guernsey | British crown dependency |
| 1989 | III | Faroe Islands | Faroe Islands |
| 1991 | IV | Åland | Finland |
| 1993 | V | Isle of Wight | England |
| 1995 | VI | Gibraltar | British overseas territory |
| 1997 | VII | Jersey | British crown dependency |
| 1999 | VIII | Gotland | Sweden |
| 2001 | IX | Isle of Man | British crown dependency |
| 2003 | X | Guernsey | British crown dependency |
| 2005 | XI | Shetland | Scotland |
| 2007 | XII | Rhodes | Greece |
| 2009 | XIII | Åland | Finland |
| 2011 | XIV | Isle of Wight | England |
| 2013 | XV | Bermuda or Prince Edward Island |
Sports
The host country chooses between 12 and 14 different sports for their games from this list:
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External links
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