© International Island Games Association
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 December 2000 £10,000 WORTH OF AWARDS ANNOUNCED The International Island Games Association has announced its latest allocation of funds under the auspices of the NatWest Coaching Scheme. Over £10,000 will be distributed among seven islands and the sports to benefit will be tennis, shooting, track and field athletics, basketball, badminton and swimming. The money is provided by NatWest as part of its ongoing commitment to the Island Games which carries its name. As well as being the official main sponsors of three gatherings - Gotland in 1999, the Isle of Man in 2001 and Guernsey in 2003 - NatWest is contributing an annual sum for six years under its coaching initiative aimed at nurturing talent and improving coaching techniques. Six islands have been awarded coaching grants in specific areas - Alderney £600 in respect of junior tennis, Gotland £420 for shooting and £1,510 track and field, Guernsey £900 for basketball and £1,200 in relation to swimming and Prince Edward Island £1,350 for badminton coaching, while Rhodes and Saaremaa each receive allocations of £2,000 towards improving standards in swimming and basketball respectively. In addition, a sum of £1,625 goes to Gibraltar to help it implement the revolutionary SAQ (speed, agility and quickness) workout system designed by utilising the training methods of the world's top competitors. The technique is favoured by many top professionals in sports such as athletics, tennis, football and basketball. Coach education and training programmes are delivered by fitness experts who work for SAQ Leisure, the UK branch of the USA based SAQ International group of companies. The Gibraltar Island Games Committee intends to bring tutors from the UK to operate a coach education programme for the benefit of national squad coaches, their assistants and also teachers. Terry Quayle, NatWest coordinator for the International Island Games Association, said: "This is the fourth annual allocation of grants under the NatWest Island Games Coaching Scheme and the benefits are now being seen by way of improved standards across a broad range of sports. "The grants can be used to expose islanders to a higher level of coaching and to update local coaches on the latest theories and techniques as well as exploring the fitness, motivational and psychological aspects of sport. "In some instances the money has been used to fund intensive weekend courses and in others the islands have gone for wider-based programmes, but whatever method is chosen the aim is to improve sporting standards across the islands, and is of particular benefit to those islanders for whom access to top class coaches is more difficult." Since the NatWest Coaching Scheme was established four years ago, a total of over £40,000 has been distributed to members of the International Island Games Association. Main criteria is that the applications for grant awards should provide long term benefits for the specific sport being helped. Media enquiries:
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