Sporting success – but “vast” gulf in facilities
The success of the Island Games in Orkney has highlighted the “vast disparity” in resources which they and Shetland have access to and prompted a call for the Western Isles to focus on being able to host the event by 2045 – with facilities in place.
Norrie Macdonald, chair of the Western Isles Island Games Association, said: “Shetland hosted in 2005, Orkney in 2025. So maybe we could do it in 2045. We’ve got to be ambitious and that has to start somewhere. So let’s make that our target”.
However, he also tied the demand to critical questions about funding and the “vast disparity” which oil funds have created. Mr Macdonald said: “The facilities are out of this world. It helps for Orkney to have £200 million in the bank and Shetland to have £600 million – and that is after they have been investing in these facilities for decades.
“We seem to be the poor neighbours. It is ridiculous to talk about levelling up and then to divide the money three ways as if we are on equal footings. That is never going to get us anywhere near them in terms of sporting facilities or anything else”.
Councillor Macdonald urged that local government settlements and other funding must take account of the “completely different circumstances that exist among the three islands authorities”.
He also called for major funding to come from renewable energy developments in the islands. “We should have got something fro the licensing. That wasva no-brainer. Instead we are relying on their goodwill and what they are offering at present does not begin to scrape the surface of what we should be aiming to achieve”.
Comhairle convener, Kenny Macleod, said: “Basically, the facilities are extraordinary and the amount of money that has been spent in Orkney over the past 20-30 years was a huge eye-opener to everyone from the Western Isles – not just in one place, but throughout the islands.
“We just have to plan ahead. The money they have used to build these facilities is through the oil over 50 years. If the proposed windfarm projects come off in our own islands, we should look at getting money that allows us to do the same”.
Paying tribute to the Western Isles team, the convener said: “Our athletes demonstrated talent, competitive spirit, teamwork and sportsmanship. The WIIGA team was a credit to our islands."