Guernsey A take on Carrick Emmets last year. (Picture by Adrian Miller, 0434224)
GUERNSEY will be competing on two fronts at tomorrow’s Guernsey Gaelic Football Sevens. The local A team will be playing for points in the north-west division of the European league when they come up against sides from the Continent as well as competing for the weekend’s overall title.
Guernsey Gaels chairman Ray Tully said putting on the Bank of Ireland-sponsored event this year had been tough after the success of last year’s, which had been celebrating the 10th year and was the biggest yet.
‘It’s built up over the years but this year was probably the hardest to organise because you can’t expect teams to keep coming back every time. A lot of the teams last year had planned to come to the 10th event a few years in advance. In a way we had to start from scratch.’
Five visiting teams will be competing at Port Soif, while two male and three female teams will all be provided from Guernsey.
‘Over the last 10 tournaments we have had over 1,500 visiting participants from Europe, the UK and Ireland,’ said Tully.
‘This tournament is highly regarded back in Ireland and we always have compliments at how well it is run and the standard of the play.
‘It’s on the Gaelic football map and that’s the most important thing.’
Tully said the popularity of the sport was on the up in Guernsey.
‘We have had one of our best years locally in terms of standard.
‘We have about 23 male players to choose from and the last few training sessions have been really competitive.’
He said the Long Port training camps held in the summer had attracted 85 youngsters, with eight of those who had taken part now taking part at the weekend in the A and B teams.
‘They are strong enough and the training camps have helped to prepare them.’
The action gets under way at 11am and will run through till 5pm. Entrance is free.
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