THE Team Guernsey spirit is the envy of other islands, was the message from GIGA chairwoman Denise Fawcett as the Aland Games 2009 came to a close on Saturday.

‘We could not be a more supportive, up for it, crowd of young people,’ she said.

‘They have been fantastic.

‘The support they show other sports is absolutely phenomenal.

‘It is different to all the other islands, and I think many are envious of our camaraderie.’

Fawcett has been to all four corners of Aland in the last week, supporting Sarnians wherever and whenever they were competing.

She admitted that it was difficult to pick a highlight.

‘Sometimes different things are more sentimental to me. For example, I watched Kay [Chivers] and Dawn [Morgan] in the women’s doubles table tennis final and it is lovely to still see them playing so well. I have watched them so many times yet I still enjoy watching them because they are so cool and professional.

‘Then you get something like the athletics [the 4x400m on Friday] and that was just amazing for everybody who saw it.’

The GIGA chairwoman also admitted that the medal count for Guernsey had exceeded her expectations.