As was stated at the end of our last post we had decided to rip up our schedule for Friday and start again. We had at the beginning of the week wanted to go to every football ground and watch every sport but all that changed after we’d got so heavily involved with watching Ynys Mon competitors especially down at the track. So basketball was dropped and so too was the 3rd/4th place play off in the women’s football tournament. Instead we would go to the athletics for the morning. However we had a busy start as we wanted to pack away all we could including the tents so that tonight we would sleep in the changing rooms and could get up and put stuff straight into the car to head to the ferry for 7.30am.
We left the car and got the bus to St Helier then round to FB Fields. Ynys Mon had several races this morning but none bigger than Iolo Hughes in the 1,500m final. We all wanted to see him win Gold as he deserved it so much. It wasn’t long before his race was up and there was a large gathering of team Ynys Mon by the 250m mark to cheer him on. Iolo ran well sticking in third for most of the race but then pushed forward with just over a lap to go. He kept his position at the front fighting off challenges from the other two with him. Gold number 5 was secured for Ynys Mon and we were all ecstatic! After Iolo had received his Gold we presented him with our own award. We’d decided to bring along something to present to each of those who won a Gold medal as a gift from Mersea to Jersey. The gift was a bottle of Mersea Island beer. We presented the sailors theirs later in the day and hopefully Mikaela has been given her bottle.
The next events were the relays which Ynys Mon were already very happy with having qualified for all four finals so whatever happened would be a bonus. They all gave their best and the 4x100m men’s team came very close to a medal but ended up finishing 4th. It was a great effort by all!
That was it for the athletics programme for the Games and we were going to be late for the Men’s football final at Springfield. It was just our luck that as we headed towards the loop bus stop it drove off with us just 30 metres away. So instead it was a walk to the stadium with us arriving 5-8 minutes late. The first half was a good game but as soon as Guernsey were 2-0 up and IOM down to 10 men the game was all but over.
Our sport was now finished for the week. We’d managed to see pretty much every sport and travelled to every part of Jersey (some several times). But there was still one big event left to come, the Closing Ceremony! We’d been asked to join the Ynys Mon football teams to walk into the park with them. So we headed to the hotel after the game and waited there with them until it was time to move to the assembly point. We walked in to the Games Village together singing and cheering as we passed the flags of the islands and moved down through the crowds to our position. It was fantastic and really summed up the whole friendly games atmosphere. Although it was quite hard to hear the speeches going on we did manage to hear the closing of these games. This was the end of Jersey 2015 and fantastic games in which we still can’t really believe all that has happened but this also signifies the beginning of the preparations for Gotland 2017, don’t worry we’ll be there!!
Once the formalities were done the party could begin and what a party it was. There was music, dancing, drinking, swapping of all sorts of different items. Islands came together in their different sports to celebrate their week but they also mingled with other islands to party in style. During this party we managed to find the legend that is Jorgen Pettersson the Chair of the International Island Games Association. This guy is brilliant and when we asked for a photo with him he even recognised who we were.
We spent most of the time at the ceremony with the Ynys Mon lot and had a fantastic time with them. Lots of photos were taken and the singing went on into the night especially a song about the A55. It’s quite difficult to sum up the closing ceremony party really as so much happened in such a short period of time. What we can say is that we had a brilliant time and were glad we spent it with those we’d been cheering on through out the week, those who’d worked their socks off for Ynys Mon. We did have a lot of people come up to say hello to us having seen us on the TV or earlier in the week, several of those were Games Makers who’d helped us out or who were really interested by our story. The music and entertainment was ended with a spectacular fireworks display worthy of any closing ceremony.
Sadly the night had to come to an end in the Games Village and the Ynys Mon lot were the last ones to leave as we were too busy singing and dancing around. The games was truly over for another 2 years! With us needing to catch the last bus back to the other side of the island it meant we couldn’t stay out partying with the rest of them and so instead had to say our goodbyes to a number of the teams. It’s amazing how in just one week we feel like we’ve been treated as family by the Ynys Mon team and we’re really going to miss that.
And finally…
Whilst we had a good laugh camping in a field, it was in the middle of nowhere. We are SO thankful to the people that put us up there and they went way beyond what we asked for. However the Thursday and Friday nights showed us how good it would be to stay with (or at least near) the Ynys Mon accommodation. That’s something we’ll be looking to ensure for Gotland 2017.
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