Day 2 – The Sport Begins!!

Finally after what feels like a week already since we arrived the sport has actually begun. It also meant the start of our early mornings and the alarm going off at 6.45am after the previous night’s opening ceremony was very difficult. Some did have slight aching heads. Our first port of call was the half marathon. We went to the Athletics stadium to see both the men and women start and finish. We cheered as both Rob Hughes and Dave Lemon set off for the Ynys Mon men and Sara Livett for the Ynys Women. It was great at the stadium with lots of people from all islands gathered to cheer on their teams. Somehow, we still don’t know how, we managed to get the very front row seats of the stand in front of the finish line. We got out the flags and draped them over the railings to welcome back our Ynys runners. There was a fantastic atmosphere around the stand with a large gathering. We even managed to meet the Ynys Mon mascot Dai Mon. Attention soon turned to the entrance of the track as the first runners came through. There were great cheers as the very first Gold medal was won by Gibraltar in the Women’s race. Then they came thick and fast. We kept our eyes peeled for team Ynys and managed to see all three come in and finish the race.

Meeting Dai Mon

It was then a very quick dash over to Badminton to see Ynys Mon battling it out with Gotland. This was the team event so it was a best of 5 games. We’d missed the first two and Ynys were 2-0 down already. This is the first time they’ve entered the competition in a very long time so good experience for the team. We watched the men’s doubles and women’s doubles then the mixed doubles. Unfortunately we lost all three making it 5-0 in total but it was a good effort from the team especially from the Preston’s in the mixed doubles who fought the Gotland pair to a close first game. Gotland looked very sharp and quick in their play and we won’t be surprised if they pick up medals throughout the week.

Next up was our first football match of the games seeing Western Isles take on Isle of Man. We could sit back and enjoy this game and try and take a quick rest while doing so. IOM were very good but the scoreline was unfortunate for Western Isles and didn’t really reflect the game. It finished 9-0 to IOM but several of those were fantastic finishes and a couple of rather lucky ones too. Including one that hit the post and then bounced of the keepers nose into the goal. It was a fun game to watch though.

We headed back into St Helier for the start of the triathlon and stood up by the sea wall to watch the swimming before shooting over to the road to see them get on the bikes and cycle off into the distance. There were huge crowds around the water and roads to cheer on all the athletes. It was a brilliant turnout and we hope other events get the same support. We saw Alun Jones and Phillip Lynes cycle past before we thought we saw Dwynwyn Lewis fly past. Unfortunately that was all for us as we had to rush off to catch out first Ynys Mon football match.

It was Ynys Mon Men vs Guernsey Men a game that we expected to be tough with Guernsey’s reputation but hoped we might get something out of. We stood watching the Ynys team warming up and then as they headed in to the changing rooms we were invited in for the team talk. We stood in the corner as the final instructions were handed out and the team got themselves mentally prepared for the game. We could see they were up for it and so were we. We sang out loud as the players came out onto the pitch and then headed behind the Guernsey Goalkeeper’s goal to watch the game. Unfortunately it didn’t start very well. Ynys went 1-0 down within 7 minutes. We didn’t stop singing though and the lads picked themselves up and fought back to keep it at 1-0 for the first half. It was rather strange watching a football match with aeroplanes flying over to one side almost within touching distance. We’re not sure we can think of another ground like it anywhere. The second half was very open and both defences were caught napping. Guernsey went 4-0 up before we finally got to see the team score and it was a beauty. Guernsey quickly replied to make it 5-1 but we came back once more to end the game 5-2. Guernsey were the better team but the 5-2 result slightly flattered them.

Richard and Pete with Plane

And finally… well done to the Ynys Mon sailors who have done really well on the water. We hope to see them later in the week.