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Team Shetland departs for Bermuda

Sat 6th July 2013 

With just one week to go until the Opening Ceremony of the 2013 NatWest Island Games in Bermuda, Team Shetland has met today for the final time before the first competitors leave Shetland this afternoon. 

Enlarge Image Five Shetland triathletes set off today and will arrive in Bermuda on Monday evening, giving themselves seven days to acclimatise to the warm climate, ahead of the triathlon on Sunday morning, which is the first event of the Games.   The remainder of the Shetland Team will set off from Shetland over the next few days and meet in Bermuda towards the middle of the week.

Forty five Shetland competitors and officials are making the journey to Bermuda for this year’s Games, which last took place in the Isle of Wight in 2011.    Team Shetland will be competing in eight sports of athletics, cycling, golf, sailing, clay shooting, squash, swimming and triathlon. 

The Flag Bearer for Team Shetland at the Opening Ceremony will be half-marathon runner Karl Simpson, from Burra, who has represented Shetland at five previous Games.

Enlarge Image The Opening Ceremony will feature a Water Ceremony where each competing island brings water from their island to be poured into a specially designed fountain that will flow for the Games week.  The honour of being Water Carrier for the Shetland Team at this year’s Games has been given to swimmer Andrea Strachan, who won four gold medals in the Isle of Wight in 2011. 

Chairman of Shetland Island Games Association, Andrew Inkster commented – “It has taken a lot of work and planning over the last few months to plan for this year’s Games.  We are happy to now be ready for ‘Bermuda 2013’ and our competitors are now briefed on the plans for travel, accommodation and sports programmes.   I’d like to thank all those involved in our planning, including the volunteers in the Association and local people and businesses who have supported our fundraising efforts, including our Overall Team Sponsor, Malakoff Limited; and Serco Northlink Ferries for their travel sponsorship.”

Twenty two island teams will be competing at the Games from as far afield as the Falkland Islands, Greenland, Faroe and Menorca, as well as several teams from the British isles and Scandinavia.

The Opening Ceremony will take place on the evening of Saturday 13th July, with the first sports events taking place on Sunday morning.   The Closing Ceremony will take place on the evening of Friday 19th July.

The Official Results website will carry up to date results of all the sports and medal placings throughout the week - www.natwestislandgames2013results.com