Basketball focus on the Faroes

After missing out on the Orkney Island Games in 2025, Guernsey's basketball squads are raring to get back to the competition in 2027.

Both the men's and women's squads are training weekly, and that will only increase as the games in the Faroe Islands get closer.

The competition runs from the 3-9 July 2027 and is already heavily on the minds of the basketball teams, not least for the money they need to raise to get there.

For the men's captain, Aaron Walden, the next games will be his 6th, his 5th as captain and he says it's still an honour to lead the side.

"I'm 35 now so I am getting towards the end of my playing career, been captain since I was 21 years old so I've been at the helm for a while now. It's great to represent Guernsey and lead the team out in a sport like basketball."

That longevity in the game has been common in the sport although both the men's and women's teams continue to be in somewhat of a transition period. There was a lot of change, in a number of sports, following the Guernsey games in 2023, which some athletes chose as their swansong before retiring.

The women's captain, Emma Hicks, has been playing for Guernsey for 20 years.

She smiled as she said: "I'm a veteran now. I used to be the youngest Emma for quite a long time but now very much the oldest."

After their bronze medal at the Guernsey games, Emma said of the current team: "It's a development process, we know we've got things to work on, key areas we want to develop and bring on for that end result." 

"This next phase bringing the youngsters through, happens to all sports at some point, and gives us that opportunity to build that new team, so it's an exciting period too."

They recognise as a team the big financial commitment they're all going to have to make.

All Guernsey athletes have to raise the funds to travel to each Island Games and it's been acknowledged that the Games in the Faroes will be particularly expensive.

The Women's Coach Jenny Murphy says it's tricky to balance, they're saving as a team but also looking to employers for personal sponsorship as well as team fundraising. 

"It wasn't an automatic yes [for the Games] where it normally would be, because of the cost and the time away but everyone is really committed and keen to represent the island" she said.

Neither of the island sides has a team sponsor so training costs come from the players pockets. Aaron Walden said: "It's a huge commitment, but you see the numbers here at training, everyone is willing and committed."

The interest in the sport was huge at the Guernsey games and the noise inside the "Beausie Dome" was something special to be part of. It inspired a number of those now competing for a place in Team Guernsey next year.

Teenagers Florrie Cooper and Daisy Burrows were watching the action on phones in school and now find themselves in serious contention to be part of the Women's side. Already competing at island level in water polo and volleyball respectively, they both have family connections to the Guernsey Island Games Association.

Florrie's Mum is a former island volleyball player and Daisy's Grandpa, Mike Burrows, was part of the Archery team in Orkney last year. The girls say there's real family pride in the prospect of them being part of Team Guernsey too.

So much so, that Mike is trying to sign up the rest of the family according to Daisy: "My grandpa is really excited to have someone to go away with, he's been trying to convince everyone else to join sports so that we can all go together as a family."

The Faroes 2027 could be a first Island Games for both Ciaran Hamilton and Kaine Hyde. They both had a taste of travel for their sport with the inter-island games. It was a competition organised by Island Games basketball teams and held in Ynys Mon after their sport wasn't included in the Orkney games. 

Ciaran said that gave him a glimpse of what he'd like from the games in 2027: "Getting into a position where we can come back with a good few wins under our belts."

He added: "Cost wise the games is a big commitment to make, it would be such a shame if it was a barrier for entry for the teams, it would be a massive loss for the tournament."

For Kaine, who started his basketball with the Future Stars program as a 12 year old, Guernsey's hosting of the Games was hugely inspiring for his own progression.

Looking ahead to the games he said: "It's hugely attractive, should be much bigger crowds, a much bigger environment than we're used to. It'll be kind of a different world and like we're playing basketball for the first time in some ways."

The men's Coach, Adam Farish, said of his team: "It's a bit of a rebuild still, but the hunger is back, there are a few more people at training. We'll focus on the inter insulars coming up and then really lock in from June."

It's not just about the cost of Faroes, although that's expected to run into a couple of thousand pounds per person, for Farish it's about training to get to the level they need to be at to be competitive at an Island Games.

He said: "At the moment we're training once a week and that's never been enough for us as an island squad. We've always trained 2 or 3 times a week, but that's coming out the lads pockets too. We're looking at all the avenues we can but it's tough when you're asking people to train as hard as we're asking them to train, and give up the time they need to be competitive to then be trying to raise money and go out and do lots of fundraising events, it's a big ask."

It's not dampening the enthusiasm so far but there's no doubt it's going to be one of the bigger challenges of getting to that first game.

But it's evident for both teams that the desire to compete and be part of Team Guernsey is there.

Jenny Murphy said: "Coming from a small island, high level competition is really difficult to come by. These kind of opportunities are really fantastic, playing against teams we wouldn't get to play against otherwise, and the chance to represent your island. There's just such a special feeling about the Island Games, you're part of something really big."