Letters / Punching well above our weight
I realise that John Tulloch (‘Autonomy reaps medals’, SN 10/7/15) has an “idee fixe” regarding autonomy/crown dependency status.
However it is a non sequitur for him to try and claim, after a facile “scan” of the Island Games medal table, that the top positions of Jersey, Isle of Man, Faroe and Guernsey is due to them enjoying autonomous status.
If that were the only factor, why did the Aland Islands, so often quoted as an example by Mr Tulloch and his ilk, finish so far down the table? Why also did Greenland, which has the same level of autonomy within the Danish state as Faroe, only win a single medal?
The answer is that there are other factors which have an effect on the medal performance of participating islands, not least population size. Faroe has double the population of Shetland, Guernsey has treble the number of inhabitants, Jersey and the Isle of Man have between four and five times our population pool.
In addition, Jersey as the host island not surprisingly topped the table in their home games as is often the case.
What is undeniable is that Shetland is punching well above her weight given our relatively small population and a climate which is not conducive for outdoor sports.
One other factor in Shetland’s favour is that many of our top competitors benefit in getting a competitive edge while at university in having access to facilities and coaches on the Scottish mainland, which is not dependent on autonomous status or the lack thereof.
Bill Adams,
Lerwick
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