Team Isle of Man are on their way to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games! The majority of the squad set off on the ferry to Heysham this morning [Friday July 18] and will then travel by road to Scotland. Around half of the 46 strong squad were on board – the rest of team, including those who live overseas and those who are competing in other events off-Island prior to the Games, will be making their own way to the host city.
Trevor Taubman, Isle of Man Team Manager, travelled with the team to Heysham and said preparations for the Games were going well. He said: “This is the biggest and strongest squad ever to represent the Island at the Commonwealth Games. Everyone on the Island can be sure that our Glasgow 2014 squad will do their best and continue the Isle of Man’s proud history of participation at the Commonwealth Games. All the competitors have worked hard to achieve the qualifying standards and will be representing the Island in competition against some of the world’s strongest sporting nations. It promises to be a fantastic Games, and we thank everyone who has supported us in the build-up to Glasgow 2014, and the many Manx supporters who are travelling to Scotland to cheer on our national team.”
Team Isle of Man will be represented in nine sports at the Games which begin with the opening ceremony at Celtic Park on July 23. The ceremony will be broadcast live on BBC One starting at 8pm. The Isle of Man squad will compete in athletics, badminton, boxing, cycling, gymnastics, lawn bowls, shooting, swimming and triathlon with the first Manx competitor in action being Andrew Nash in the triathlon on July 24.
The easiest way to keep track of our national team’s progress is to download the official Team Isle of Man app. Trevor added: “We’re very grateful to 3FM for sponsoring the app which is available for free on Android and iOS phones. It has profiles of all the team with statistics about previous Commonwealth Games achievements by Manx competitors, and details of the times and dates for all the events, and results when the Games begin. It’s the simplest and easiest way to keep up to date and we would encourage everyone who wants to support the team to download the free app at the 3FM website www.three.fm”
Some Team Isle of Man officials are already in Glasgow making preparations for the arrival of the competitors. A Team Isle of Man office has been set up in the athletes’ village and can be contacted by emailing cgaiom2014@gmail.com.
A few of the Isle of Man competitors are already in Scotland, several of the shooting team were the first squad members to arrive.
The team’s participation in the Commonwealth Games is organised by the Isle of Man Commonwealth Games Association - a registered charity responsible for the publicity, fundraising, travel, and support for the Island’s national teams which compete in the Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth Youth Games. A key part of fundraising for the squad’s participation at Glasgow 2014 was the Team Isle of Man Champions fundraising initiative supported by Auxesia, Creechurch Capital, Heron & Brearley, IOMA Fund and Investment Management Limited, Isle of Man Creamery, Karsons Pharmacy, Manx Telecom, MM&C, Skanco and SMP Partners.
You can find out more at www.cga.im where you can also make donations to support the team and help fundraising efforts for our national team’s participation in the 2015 and 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games (in Samoa and St Lucia respectively), and the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia.
Photo - Team Isle of Man competitors and support staff pictured before they boarded the Steam Packet’s Ben my Chree ferry to Heysham.
