The RX-8

HOBBIES - SPORT - LEISURE
The Island’s bid for
the 2011 Island Games
It seems that the Isle of Wight has a very
good chance of hosting the 2011 Island
Games. If successful the Island gets a
much needed boost.
The Isle of Wight is hoping to
host the Island Games for 2011,
one year prior to the Olympic
games in 2012. The Isle of
Wights only competitor is
Bermuda. The three delegates
(pictured above) Eric Legg,
Jorgen Pettersson, and James
Johnston spent three days on
the Island looking at the Islands
infrastructure, and were pleased
to conclude that from what they
have seen they would be more
than happy to report back to the
23 representatives at the
26
meeting in Rhodes in July that
the Island is quite capable of
hosting the games,which is good
news for the Island.
Another reason for the visit was
to ensure that the Isle of Wight
Council had the promised
funding of £500,000 put aside
for the games. Council leader
Andy Sutton was there to
reassure the three delegates
that the funding has been
allocated to the games should
the Isle of Wight win the bid.
We’ll keep you posted.
Left: Tony Elgar, Target Shooting - Mark Harrison, Sailing -
Barry Hall, Target Shooting.
You’re never
too old to
master the
waves
Swimming is a great pastime, not only
does it keep you fit, it’s a great way to
meet new friends.
The Heights at Sandown was the venue for this year’s Isle of Wight
Open Masters Swimming Competition, which attracted over 200
swimmers - 170 of them from the mainland. The event, which has
been running on the Island since the late 1980s, brings in
competitors aged from 19 right up to 90-plus.
Jenny Ball, one of the club’s founder members commented:
“The swimmers are incredibly competitive, no matter what age they
are. In fact, we find that the older they are the worse they get!
Recently we witnessed a 100 year old swimmer take part in the
Masters in Montreal. The swimmers that take part must be pretty
good, they are not your casual swimmer. Those from the older
generation most likely would have been a competitive swimmer at
some time in their life.”
“We have one gentleman who is 81 years old and has a heart
pacemaker. His doctor is not too happy about him swimming, but
he still takes part every year. However, the majority of the older
swimmers are incredibly fit.”
“Also it’s nice for the younger generation of swimmers to be able to
look up to and respect these veterans. There is a lot of respect
there, because the younger swimmers realise what work and
training needs to go into it.”
“The Masters competition is very popular even with the under 19’s,
Island Life - www.islandlifemagazine.net