AN Island Games without Dale Garland, Kimberley Goodall and Erica Bodman just won’t seem the same.

Members of the Guernsey athletics squad at last week’s official send-off. (Picture by Andrew Le Poidevin, 0792003)

But for the first time in years, Guernsey cannot call upon three of their medal bankers.

Great Britain athlete Garland misses out on Aland because his wife is due to give birth at the same time, Goodall is injured while Bodman now has her sights set on a possible London 2012 Olympics appearance as a rower.

However, there are still past gold medallists of the calibre of Lee Merrien, Tom Druce and Lee Garland making the trip, alongside the next generation of highly promising GIAAC products who will be looking to make their mark on the Island Games stage.

Team manager Linda Parrack is optimistic that they will do just that, even if the medal count does not reach previous highs.

‘At the 2007 Rhodes Games, Guernsey topped the athletics medal table,’ she said.

‘We shall, of course, be trying to emulate this achievement again this year, but we feel it is just as important that all athletes come away from the Games knowing that they gave their very best performance even if a medal was just out of reach this time around.’

Eleven of the 21-strong squad are Games debutants and Parrack wants them to take the opportunity to learn from the experience and carry forward the knowledge they gain to future Games.

‘We have six athletes under 18 years of age, some being still only 15 or 16 years old, so it will be quite a challenge for them to become medal contenders even though they have duly earned the right to compete,’ she said.

‘Having said that, we hope that they will perform at their peak and come away from the Games with personal bests in their events and a strong desire to compete at future Games.

‘These youngsters will have an added advantage of being part of a team with some very experienced Games performers.

‘We have the likes of Lee Garland, Lee Merrien and Tom Druce – all extremely experienced athletes who will be on hand to offer guidance and mentoring to the newcomers, which will be invaluable.’

Early season signs have been good with promising performances coming at the recent MeesPierson Golden Series match, in the UK league matches and also the Hampshire County Championships.

The team manager feels that they are an indication that the training regimes adopted over the winter and through the spring have paid off.

‘A number of personal bests have already been achieved this season and the challenge of even stronger competition at the Games will hopefully encourage all athletes to excel themselves,’ Parrack said.

She added that many of the other islands find themselves in the same boat as the Sarnians – going through something of a rebuilding phase.

Because of that, it is hard to predict who the stronger islands in the track and field events will be.

‘I’m sure the Caribbean islands of Cayman and Bermuda will produce some excellent sprinters, but the host island of Aland will have an obvious advantage, too, in many events.

‘Just as the Guernsey athletics squad has a number of new faces, the other islands are also made up of several unknowns so it difficult to judge where the main opposition might come from,’ Parrack said.

Guernsey squad:
Matt Bailey, Steve Dawes, Tom Druce, Glenn Etherington, Lee Garland, Kristy Grant, Jonathan Guille, Ross Hanley, Shannen Higgins, Caroline Kyle, Mark Mercier, Sarah Mercier, Lee Merrien, Jacques Ogier, Louise Perrio, Leo Rice, Kylie Robilliard, Hywel Robinson, Martine Scholes, Ronan Shally, Nathan Stevens.

Schedule:
Sunday 28 June
6-9pm (EEST)
Men: Hammer, high jump, 200m, 10,000m
Women: 100m, long jump, 1,500m
Monday 29 June
11am-1.30pm and 6-9pm
Men: 400m hurdles, 200m, 800m, shot put, 3,000m steeplechase
Women: 100m, 400m, long jump, javelin, 10,000m
Tuesday 30 June
11am-1pm and 6-9pm
Men: 110m hurdles, 4x100m, long jump, discus, 800m
Women: 100m hurdles, 4x100m, shot put, 400m, 1,500m
Wednesday 1 July
11am-1pm and 6-9pm
Men: 100m, 400m, 4x400m, long jump, javelin, 5,000m
Women: 200m, hammer, 4x400m, high jump, 5,000m
Thursday 2 July
11am-1.30pm and 6-8.15pm
Men: 100m, 1,500m, 400m
Women: 400m hurdles, 800m, 200m, discus, triple jump
Friday 3 July
11am-1.30pm
Men: Triple jump, 4x100m, half marathon, 4x400m, 1,500m
Women: 800m, 4x100m, half marathon, 4x400m

Medal hopes: Although three reigning gold medallists do not make the trip for the Sarnians, there is still plenty of class in the squad with the likes of Lee Merrien, Tom Druce and Kylie Robilliard set to shine.
Steve Dawes, Lee Garland and Louise Perrio also rate as good podium chances and one or two of the younger squad members may spring a surprise or two.
As for other islands, watch out for Janne Holmen, a former European and Olympic long-distance runner, who is competing for Aland for the first time.