P.E.I. too big for Island Games, says Guernsey

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Prince Edward Island has lost the support of Guernsey, an island in the English Channel, in its bid to host the 2013 Island Games, because it is too big.

Jon Marley, the Island Games liaison for Guernsey, said there were problems with last year's games in Rhodes because of the size of the Island, and the time it took to travel between venues. For that reason, Guernsey has decided to support Bermuda's bid to host the games.

"Compared to Guernsey, you're a very, very large place," said Marley.

"There is no strict, 'The island is too big, too small.' It's purely because Rhodes is in everybody's minds and there was issues with that. Unfortunately it just came around at the wrong time for us."

P.E.I. is about 100 times the size of Bermuda.

The Island Games were established in 1985 and are held every two years. The Rhodes event attracted 2,000 competitors from 25 islands.