Sport / Excitement builds for Team Shetland as countdown to games ticks down
TEAM SHETLAND are preparing for the “biggest inter-county ever” as 175 athletes and officials make the short journey to Orkney for next month’s Island Games.
Shetland will take their largest ever team to an away games in just over a fortnight’s time for the week-long sporting extravaganza, which runs from 12-19 July.
A total of 12 sports will be included in the Orkney games, with Shetland fielding a squad in every single one of them.
Organisers Shetland Island Games Association (SIGA) may have the most athletes and sports they have ever had to worry about, but transport for the squad will never be simpler, secretary Bob Kerr said.
“It’s as easy as it gets,” Kerr told Shetland News as the countdown to the games moves into the final few weeks.
“What’s been really challenging is the accommodation. There’s been real pressure on beds for all the visiting teams.
“More than half of our team have organised their own accommodation with friends and family.”
SIGA chairwoman Lesley Hutchison said that was “not normal”, but Orkney’s organising committee have been “happy for that to happen” because it “helps take the pressure off them”.
Accommodation has been the key word in Orkney and the visiting islands in the build-up to this summer’s competition, with Orkney overtaking Shetland as the smallest island to ever host the Island Games.
A number of Shetland’s athletes will spread out between Kirkwall and Holm in self-catering accommodation, with the team unable to make a base at one venue this year.
Kerr said the impact of that would be that the team is “split up”, making it “more challenging for us to keep in contact”.
Another downside is that competitors will not get to eat breakfast or dinner together, something that has been seen as key for bringing the team closer at previous games.
Hutchison said the need to keep men, women and under-18s separate had stretched Orkney’s already limited accommodation to its limits, adding they had “not been able to make the most use of the space” they had.
But now that preparations are in place for July’s competition, both are excited about the sporting festival to come.
“They [Orkney] are very organised,” Hutchison said.
“We have a really good feeling about the level of organisation.”
Kerr agreed, saying they knew from their experience of hosting the Island Games in 2005 “how much work has been needed in this last few weeks in Orkney”.
While going to an Island Games is usually a journey into the unknown for Shetland’s athletes and organisers, this summer’s event is a trip into familiar territory.
Most of the competitors for the blues will have taken part in an event of some sort in Orkney before – be it junior or senior inter-county – and will have a good knowledge of their facilities.
Hutchison said it will be “fantastic to be back meeting up with old friends”.
“They’ve put a lot of time and money into coaching, training and bringing facilities up to speed,” she added.
“This is like the biggest inter-county ever. It’s as near to home as we’re ever going to get.”
Kerr knows the impact the Island Games can have on an island, and said next month’s event is a “huge opportunity for legacy for Orkney and for their sports”.
It also represents a massive chance for Shetland’s athletes to take home a medley of medals while cheered on by an expected 200-300 home supporters.
“For those taking part in their first games, it’s exciting to find out what they can achieve,” Hutchison said.
“It’s important they get that experience, so they know what it’s really all about.”
For Kerr, though he does not know “where the medals are going to come”, he is confident that a Shetland side that mixes youth with experience will be competing for podium places.
“The athletes and swimmers have some really good competitors, some strong teams,” he said.
“It’s really good to see the women’s football team back [for the first time since 2005], they have been doing exceptionally well.
“There’s a lot of new faces as well. We have the lawn bowlers for the first time ever at the games, and I’m looking forward to a fantastic golf competition.”
Hutchison added that it was also “great to see the gymnasts back” at the games for the first time since Gotland in 2017.
Kerr emphasised though that the games was “only on one point on anyone’s sporting journey”.
“Hopefully it will be a high point, but it’s part of their sporting progress either way,” he said.
“What we want is everyone to go away and have a positive experience.”
The majority of Team Shetland will travel down to Orkney on Friday 11 July, with the opening ceremony taking place in Kirkwall the following day.
The sporting events will then get underway on Sunday 13 July.
Kerr said they would traditionally travel to the host island a few days early to get to know the layout and how far away venues were, but “this time we just didn’t think that was necessary”.
“We’re far more relaxed about our travel plans this year,” he said.
“The transport on the NorthLink will hopefully be very straightforward for us.”
Once the curtain closes on Orkney 2025, SIGA will turn its attentions to the 2027 games – which will be hosted by the Faroe Islands after Ynys Môn pulled out.
Hutchison said they were “at the very early stages of finding out about those games”, with the Faroe Islands to provide more details at a meeting held during games week.
And Kerr added while they would be exploring options, he said they would love Smyril Line to provide a handy route from Lerwick to Faroe in 2027.
You can view the full Shetland squad for the Orkney Island Games here: Team Shetland 2025 – Final list at 20 May 2025
Shetland News is pleased to say that we will be reporting from Orkney during the 2025 Island Games, providing regular coverage throughout the competition.
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