As Generali Worldwide’s support of the Guernsey Island Games Association continues, two more sports, lawn bowls and triathlon, are set to benefit from the firm’s bursary scheme.
The bursaries are awarded to each sport on a rotational basis as of 2018, so that every team will benefit from the funding twice during Generali Worldwide’s 10-year sponsorship.
Guernsey’s triathlon team will be heading to Gibraltar in 2019, and are the first sport to have selected their athletes. The team is planning to use their bursary to bring over a specialist triathlon swimming coach to lead special training sessions.
“The team is very grateful to have received this funding to help us prepare for the Gibraltar games. Having the opportunity to bring over specialist coaches in the sport over from the UK is amazing, and something that the team may not have benefitted from otherwise,” comments Sean Murphy, coach of the Guernsey triathlon team.
The Guernsey lawn bowls team will unfortunately not be taking part in the Gibraltar games, as the island does not have the appropriate facilities. However, the team will be competing in and hosting the European Lawn Bowls Championship after winning the bid last year.
To date, 18 individual sports have used the bursary scheme since Generali Worldwide’s sponsorship of the Guernsey Island Games team commenced in 2011.
The bursary scheme helps to secure the future of the Guernsey Island Games Association’s 19 member sports. Each sport has used the additional funding in numerous ways, from funding try-out sessions for youngsters to purchasing any much-needed kit and paying for team travel expenses to competitions.
The firm has committed to sponsoring the association until 2021 when Guernsey will host the XIX Natwest Island Games.
Giorgio Daboni, Chief Executive Officer, Generali Worldwide in Guernsey, states: “It is always a pleasure to see the bursaries being used to help sports thrive in Guernsey and support the island’s elite and upcoming sportsmen and women.
“We are delighted to see how our sponsorship can promote the sport, even when the team cannot compete in the Island Games. The European Championship will showcase lawn bowls, give our team the chance to compete and encourage more people to get involved. That is very much in the spirit of our sponsorship and Generali’s values.”
Garry Collins, the Bowls Guernsey Events Coordinator, says: “I am so grateful to Generali Worldwide for their support and being both the Events Coordinator for Bowls Guernsey and the elected World Bowls Regional Director for Europe; it’s fantastic to be able to host this major international event locally, it will be the biggest European Championships held to date.”
Brian Allen, Chairman of the Guernsey Island Games, concludes. “The bursaries are being awarded on a rotational basis as of this year. This means not only will all sports benefit from additional funding twice, but it’s also the fairest way to decide who receives it.
“We must say a massive ‘thank you’ to Generali Worldwide, as their sponsorship not only assists in getting the team to the Games, it also helps nurture and develop the local sports.”
