Sport in Jersey
In its own right Jersey participates in the Commonwealth Games and in the bi-annual Island Games, which it last hosted in 2015.[1] Jersey is a founder member of the Island Games Association and has participated in every Games since the first in 1985. Jersey first competed in 1958 in the British Empire and Commonwealth Games and has since participated in every staging of what became the Commonwealth Games. Youth sports participation includes the Commonwealth Youth Games and Jeux des Isles.[2]
In sporting events in which Jersey does not have international representation, when the British Home Nations are competing separately, islanders that do have high athletic skill may choose to compete for any of the Home Nations – there are, however, restrictions on subsequent transfers to represent another Home Nation.
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Association football
The Jersey Football Association supervises football in Jersey. The Jersey Football Combination has nine teams in its top division. The 2006/07 champions were Jersey Scottish. Ross Crick was the top scorer. Until 2012, Crick was also the highest scoring C.O.D. player (Channel Islands Open Division). The Jersey national football team plays in the annual Muratti competition among others.
Graeme Le Saux was the first Jersey footballer to play for England.
Athletics
The Jersey Marathon has been an annual event since 2006.
Jersey hosts an annual around-the-island endurance walk, The Itex-Rotary Walk.[3] This walk goes anti-clockwise around the coast of Jersey for 48.1 miles and has for a number of years started and finished at the Harbour Terminal in St Helier. The walk starts at 3am and as an example of the difficulty in completing the walk in 2009 of the 1,308 starters only 779 finished.
The Jersey Spartan Athletics Club was founded in 1978.[4]
Jersey track athlete Colin Campbell represented Great Britain at the 1968 Mexico Olympics and 1972 Munich Olympics. He also competed in the bobsleigh discipline in the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck.[5]
Cricket
Jersey is an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC). The Jersey cricket team plays in the Inter-insular match among others. Cricket has seen extreme rapid growth in Jersey and is the most popular sport. It is so popular that there is massive crowd support for every match.[6] The main cricket ground is the Grainville Cricket Ground at Saint Saviour and has hosted international cricket competitions, including hosting Women's One Day Internationals for England Women.[7][8]
Cycling
Velo Sport Jersey Cycling Club[9] and Caesarean Cycling Club[10] organise cycle sport events. The Jersey Cycling Association Youth Academy[11] promotes youth participation. Equipe Flamme Rouge[12] concentrates on coaching, mentoring and European Sportive events.
The Rubis International Criterium and Road Race Weekend was formed in 2009 by Velo Sport Jersey Cycling Club. Jersey hosted time trials of the Tour de Bretagne in 2007,[13] and a full leg in 2010.[14]
Golf
There are a number of golf courses, including La Moye Golf Club.
Two golfers from Jersey have won The Open Championship seven times between them, Harry Vardon winning six times and Ted Ray winning once. Harry and Ted also won the U.S. Open one time each and Harry's brother Tom Vardon had some smaller wins on European Tours. Tommy Horton is a long-term Jersey resident.
Gymnastics
There are four gymnastics clubs in Jersey. Jersey Gymnastics Club, Regent Gymnastics Club, De Monde Gymnastics Academy and Jersey Special Gymnastics Club. Jersey Gymnastics Club[15] is the largest, and has a training facility in St. John. Gymnasts regularly compete in the island Games.
Horse racing
For horse racing, Les Landes Race Course can be found at Les Landes in St Ouen next to the ruins of Grosnez Castle.
Motorsports
Jersey also has a small selection of motorsports available. The most well-known of these is hill climbs at Bouley Bay, which hosts both national and international hill climbs. There are a few events which take place on the beach at St Ouen. One of these is sand racing and this takes place throughout the year. Finally there is also a go kart track at the Living Legend, which features electric go karts with speeds of up to 35 mph. Karting events on the island are organised by the Jersey Kart & Motor Club, which has been operational on the island since 1960.
Several former motor racing drivers live in the island. 1992 Formula 1 world champion Nigel Mansell and ex F1 driver Derek Warwick both live there. Warwick is the owner of Honda garages in Jersey, which are named Derek Warwick Honda.
There is also one locally born racing driver: James Walker. Walker took part in British F3 from 2004–2006 and raced for Fortec Motorsport in the Renault World Series in 2007–2008, He then switched to P1 Motorsport for 2009. He has also raced in Superleague Formula and the Daytona 24 hours.
Pétanque
There are a number of pétanque pitches around the island, including in central Saint Helier. The Jersey Petanque Association is the governing body.[16]
Rugby union
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There are several rugby union clubs in the island including a rugby academy for under 18s and Les Quennevais Rugby Club. The island's main side, Jersey R.F.C., enjoyed a meteoric rise through the English pyramid beginning in 2005 and culminating in promotion to England's second level, the RFU Championship, for 2012–13. The team survived relegation scares in both of its first two seasons in the Championship, finishing in the final safe spot of 11th in both seasons.
Shooting
Colin Mallett won Jersey's sole Commonwealth Games gold medal in Auckland in 1990 for men's fullbore rifle.
Table tennis
The Jersey Table Tennis Association (Table Tennis Jersey) is the governing body responsible for table tennis in Jersey. The organisation has been affiliated to the ITTF (International Table Tennis Federation) since 1935 and is also affiliated to the European Table Tennis Union, the Commonwealth Games Association of Jersey, the Commonwealth Table Tennis Federation, Island Games Association, Jeux des îles, and the Jersey Sports Council. Table Tennis Jersey has its own purpose built sports hall, the Geoff Reed Table Tennis Centre at FB Fields, which was the venue for table tennis at the 2015 Island Games.
Swimming
Jersey has two public indoor swimming pools; a third is used by schools, clubs and associations. Swimming in the sea, surfing, windsurfing and other marine sports are practised. Jersey Swimming Club have organised an annual swim from Elizabeth Castle to Saint Helier Harbour for over 50 years. A round-island swim is a major challenge which a select number of swimmers have achieved.
Simon Militis has represented Great Britain at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and England at the 2002 Commonwealth Games.
Triathlon
The Jersey Triathlon Club is amongst the earliest formed in the UK (1985). With sheltered bays, clear blue seas and golden sandy shores, it makes for an idyllic venue for the sport of Triathlon. Members range from novices right up to Commonwealth Games athletes. A full calendar of Triathlon and, in the winter Duathlon, races are organised by the club which is affiliated to British Triathlon.
The club has a successful junior section (Aztec Jersey Tristars) which boasts a membership of over 50 athletes aged 6 to 16. In 2015 Jersey was permitted to enter Tristars athletes in British Triathlons Inter Regional Championships for the first time as a separate 'region' (without being an official region of British Triathlon) as athletes were not eligible for selection by the South Central region which is the region to which Jersey belongs.
In the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow professional Jersey triathlete Daniel Halksworth made a name for himself by breaking from the chase pack to complete the cycle section in a clear third position behind Olympic medalists Alastair and Jonny Brownlee, going on to finish in 17th position. Thomas Perchard also competed in the event for Jersey finishing in 24th place.
Daniel Halksworth is Jersey's most well known triathlete having turned professional after representing Jersey at the 2007 Island Games in Rhodes. The highlights of his professional career include victories at Ironman UK in 2012 and 2013, twice qualifying for the Hawaii Ironman World Championships (Kona) and a dominant victory in his home Island Games in 2015.
Other sports
There are few facilities for extreme sports and youth sports such as skateboarding, BMX, and inline skating. Coastal cliffs provide opportunities for rock climbing.
The Royal Channel Island Yacht Club is based in Jersey.
Champion Tenpin Bowler siblings Robbie Rive & Kris Marie Rive were selected to represent Jersey in the 2013 QubicaAMF World Cup in Krasnoyarsk, Russia.
Jersey has a strong touch (rugby) presence with a mixed open team having representing the island at the world cup, European championships and the home nations. Currently Jersey is 4th in Europe. Every year the island competes in an inter-insular with Guernsey. In 2015 jersey won the entire event including the men's, women's and mixed open games. In 2016 Jersey will host the European championship with and expected 1000 competitors from around Europe.
References
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- ↑ http://www.jersey2015.com/media/PDFs/Jersey%20Island%20Games%202015%20Bid%20Brochure.pdf
- ↑ Itex-Rotary Walk official website
- ↑ http://jerseyspartans.org/pdfs/history_jersey_spartans.pdf
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- ↑ Guernsey win inaugural Twenty20 inter-insular, by David Piesing, 30 September 2007, Cricket Guernsey
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- ↑ Jersey Petanque Association
