A SHORTAGE of accommodation means that some of the 200 officials travelling to Guernsey for the NatWest Island Games will be hosted in people’s homes.
Members of sports clubs have been asked whether they can offer accommodation on a bed-and-breakfast basis, with a cash payment available.
A drop in the number of tourist beds has led to concerns that neither Guernsey or Jersey will be able to host the Games again.
The week-long attracts up to 3,000 visiting athletes and officials.
‘As part of the planning for the Games, we have reached out to the local sports to see if any of their members can assist with accommodating some of the officials,’ said Island Games director Julia Bowditch. ‘This has happened at previous Games, and we did this in 2003 when the Games last came to Guernsey.
‘It is expensive bringing theofficials to the Island, and we want to ensure that we use our resources to create a legacy for all Guernsey sports, so we are working closely with the sports to enable this and offer a friendly, Guernsey welcome to our technical officials.’
200 technical officials will be involved across all sports to ensure the Games are run to the highest of standards.
These officials will be travelling from member Islands and further afield.
Many of the officials have been involved with the Games for several years and strong friendships have been established as a result.
Guernsey Island Games Association games director Jon Marley has said that the infrastructure has changed since the Island last hosted the event in 2003.
In both Guernsey and Jersey a number of hotels have been lost and accommodation was the biggest issue.
More than 1,200 volunteers will help to stage the Games and, on Saturday, the uniform they will wear was handed out.
It is an eye-catching green with navy accessories, labelled with the Guernsey 2023 logo.
Training sessions for the volunteers have begun.
The Games will take place from 8 to 14 July.
All member Islands have now submitted their final numbers and a full programme of events will be released shortly.
