Team Shetland announce athletes for upcoming Island Games in Guernsey

The Shetland Island Games Association have named a 103-strong team who will compete over ten sports in July.

By Sophie Goodwin

May 9 2023, 12:05 pm

Guernsey will host the 2023 International Island Games. Image: SIGA.

Team Shetland have declared their team for the upcoming NatWest International Island Games in Guernsey.

The Island Games usually take place every two years, but haven’t been held since 2019 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

More than 2,000 athletes from island communities across the globe will travel to Guernsey to compete over a range of sports, with the opening ceremony taking place on July 8.

Shetland have named their team which includes 88 competitors and 15 officials, who will represent the island in ten different sports.

Team Shetland will again include athletes Seumas Mackay and Katie Dinwoodie, who both won gold medals on the track at the last Games in Gibraltar in July 2019.

Also taking part will be 2019 bronze-medal winning swimmers Jasmin Smith, and sisters Annie and Emmie Hutchison.

This year’s team also includes archers, golfers and the men’s football squad – none of whose sports were included in the sports programme of the 2019 Games.

Lesley Hutchison, vice chair of Shetland Island Games Association said: “We’re pleased to be able to announce the team list and a strong team for this year’s Games.

“It’s been long wait after Covid but we’re excited to now be in the home straight towards Guernsey 2023.

“We’re grateful for funding from the Shetland Community Benefit Fund and we’d especially like to thank our three sponsors Malakoff Limited, Cooke Aquaculture Scotland and Harper Macleod for supporting us again.

“It’s great to have them on board for the 2023 Games and we’re looking forward to a spectacular week of sport in Guernsey in two months’ time.”

Team Shetland

Archery

Billy Finnie, Benjamin Hamer, Ryan Leith, Dylan Murphy

Cycling

Hayley Dixon, Robin Atkinson, Kieran Fraser, Carlos Riise, John Thomson

Athletics

Katie Dinwoodie, Sophie Grant, Kirsty Laurenson, Mhia Mouat, Mary Rutherford, Neil Arthur, Russell Gair, Brett Haining, Bobby Laurenson, Seumas MacKay, Connor McDonald, David Wagstaff (team manager)

Badminton

Ruth Anderson, Chloe Hitchin, Stephanie Keith, Shona Mackay, Thomas Calder, Dean Guthrie, Ramsay Hogg, Luca Russell, Joe Thomson, Nicole Hughson (team manager), Andrew Bowman (coach), Mark MacKay (assistant coach)

Football

Declan Adamson, James Aitken, Josh Carroll, Jack Clubb, Stuart Copland, James Farmer, Liam Flaws, Ronan Grant, Rory Henderson, Neil Laurenson, Sam Maver, Brandon McKay, Lorne McNiven, Finn Regan, Jack Simpson, Robert Smith, Tomas Smith, Saul Swanson, Harry Thomson, Greg Tulloch, Richard Arthur (coach), Neil Fenwick (team manager), Martin Leyland (coach), Bruce McCulloch (coach)

Golf

Andrew Bain, Kieren Fraser, Robert Geddes, David Nicol

Sailing

Luke Bullough, Darren Forrest, Willum Leask, James Morris, Brydon Leask (coach)

Swimming

Rhona Anderson, Anne Hutchison, Emmie Hutchison, Bethany Irvine, Freya Masson, Kari Preacher, Angelika Samohvalova, Jasmin Smith, Magnus Bullough, Joe Carter, Finlay Geddes, Mark Hutcheon, Cailean Johnson, Adam Millar, Thomas Nicolson, Robbie Thomson, Sandra Smith (assistant coach), Graham Farmer (assistant coach), Petur Petursson (coach)