ANYONE who has put heart and soul into preparation for exams, a charity event, a speech, a wedding or, indeed, anything of importance in their lives, has to feel for the sportsmen and women and officials due to leave for New Delhi any day now.

Most islanders cannot conceive of the single-minded dedication required to reach such a high level of sport.

It is not just the four-year lead-in time; a Games appearance is often the culmination of a lifetime’s effort.

All but a few will have been identified as talented juniors and put through intensive training programmes that leave little time for the usual carefree lives of youngsters. Packed between brief moments of glory on the winners’ podium are hour after hour of practice, weekend after weekend, early morning after early morning.

The pay-off for all that hard work comes at events such as the Commonwealth Games. For all but the greatest Guernsey sports stars this is as good as it gets, with the Olympics just that step too far.

So, to get within touching distance of your sporting dream and see it under threat for reasons beyond your control must be heart-breaking. Athletes trying to prepare mentally for the performance of a lifetime have at the same time to think that it might all be called off.

As of this morning, the major countries who will play a big part in Guernsey’s decision were saying that while there might be delays in the teams’ arrivals but no country had cancelled.

But even if the initial concerns are overcome and all the teams arrive, the sports stars going to the Delhi Games will do well to concentrate on their events. Heat and dust are one thing, dengue fever, malaria, floods and collapsing bridges and roofs are another.

But above all that Guernsey’s chef de mission is right to identify security as the main consideration.

While the island’s sportsmen and women might have a huge amount of time and effort invested into preparing for these Games, no one’s lives should be put at risk for the sake of sport.