Executive Committee Meeting, Isle of Man, November 17 – 19, 2007

The Executive Committee of the International Island Games Association (IGA) held its first autumn meeting on 17 – 19 November 2007 in the Isle of Man – the island where the ‘Inter-Island’ Games were born in 1985 and the host of the 2001 NatWest Island Games.

The IGA, being a signatory to the World Anti-Doping Code, supports the position that in the long term education will play a central role in the creation of a true anti-doping culture. For this reason the Executive Committee has already appointed one of its Members, Mr Andy Varnom, to be their temporary Compliance Officer with the responsibility for reporting to WADA on Code-compliance, and will also be contacting all Member Islands Associations to appoint an Educational Officer.

Dick Ekstrom, Chairman of the Organising Committee of the NatWest Island Games XIII gave a report on the progress and preparations for next Games that will take place on 26 June – 4 July 2009 in the Aland Islands. For more details about the NatWest Island Games 2009, please visit http://www.natwestislandgames2009.ax

At the meeting the preparations for the 2011 NatWest Island Games in the Isle of Wight were discussed and the Executive Committee was delighted to learn that NatWest, the main sponsor of the NatWest Island Games, is to extend its sponsorship agreement with the International Island Games Association for a further two years. The new deal will guarantee sponsorship of the Games until after the 2011 competition in the Isle of Wight and means that NatWest will sponsor the inter-island competition for a seventh consecutive Games. NatWest’s funding to the IGA provides contributions for the running costs of the Games, the staffing of the IGA office in the Isle of Man and the organising committees of the host islands.

Two islands – Bermuda and Prince Edward Island – have formally presented their intentions to bid for the hosting rights of the 2013 Island Games. The bidding islands now have until 28th December 2007 to present their Bid Documents. Thereafter the IGA Executive Committee will, following its spring meeting in 2008, make a recommendation to the membership regarding the choice of host for 2013. The final decision will as always be taken by the Membership at the IGA Annual General Meeting in Aland on 28th June 2008.

IGA Chairman Jörgen Pettersson comments on this first autumn meeting:
”It was a constructive and useful meeting. Apart from discussing the effects and responsibilities of being a signatory to the WADA Code;  taking reports from the two future Host Islands Organising Committees, the Executive Committee also continued its work to assist  future Host Island Organising Committees run the Games.  This is being undertaken in several ways just two of which are the full restructuring of the current Sports By-laws and investigating ways to reduce the present very large cost of organising some of the sports”.

For further information please contact Jörgen Pettersson, Chairman of the IGA (jorgen.pettersson@aland.net, +3584573135640).