Media Release - May 2007

Report for The Jersey Evening Post

The Commonwealth Games Association of Jersey (CGAJ) has reached a landmark in its history and, this year, celebrates the 50th anniversary of its founding in 1957. During that year, the late Ken Webb was instrumental in forming the Association so that Jersey could be represented at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, which took place in Cardiff. Six local sports associations; athletics, boxing, cycling, lawn bowls, swimming and weight lifting affiliated to the new Association and a team of 16 Jersey competitors participated in the VIth Games.

In his report to the Association’s Annual General Meeting on 26th April 2007, Alan Cross, the Secretary General of CGAJ, reminded members that there were now 14 affiliated members sports associations. At last year’s Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Jersey was represented by 35 competitors (its biggest team ever) covering the sports of athletics, badminton, cycling, lawn bowls, shooting (3 disciplines), swimming and ttiathlon. Although the Team failed to return with a medal, all team members fully justified their selection and we achieved fourth placings in both lawn bowls and badminton.

In welcoming the 36 members at this year’s AGM, the Association’s President, Martin Hebden, thanked them all for their excellent support throughout his four year term of office. He reminded everyone that the past four years had seen many changes to both the administration and management of the Association’s affairs and with the planning process leading up to the XVIIIth Games in March 2006. He highlighted comments from the Secretary General’s report in stating that the officer’s intentions were, if re-elected for a further 4 year term of office, to embark on a programme of fine-tuning of the processes that were used for Melbourne and to implemented these in the selection process for the Island’s elite athletes for both the 2008 Youth Games in Pune, India and the XIXth Games in Delhi in October 2010.

Various members at the AGM, in supporting the re-election of Martin Hebden as President; Mo Le Mottee as one of the two Vice Presidents; Alan Cross as Secretary General and Paul Huddlestone as the Association’s Treasurer, applauded the work of these officers since they were elected in 2003/4 and all received the unanimous support in being re-elected to office for the period leading up to and beyond the Delhi Games. Former Vice President, Mrs. Pat Henwood was thanked by the President for her invaluable contribution to the Association and Paul Du Feu was then elected as her replacement. At a Council Meeting immediately prior to the AGM, Paul Huddlestone, who had so ably performed the role of General Team Manager for Team Jersey at both the 2004 Youth Games and the 2006 Melbourne Games, was also re-elected unopposed, to take on this responsibility again for the next two Games events. Martin Hebden thanked members for their support in re-electing Paul and the officers and expressed his confidence in the group and their ability to lead the Association over the next four years and to help prepare Jersey’s best athletes for both the Youth Games and the main Games in India during that period.

Reference was also made to the closer relationship that had been established recently with all branches of the Jersey media, the States of Jersey Education, Sport and Culture Department (ESC) and the Island Games Association of Jersey (IGAJ). This initiative is in line with one of the Association’s key objectives, i.e. ‘To encourage the development of sport and sports people in Jersey with a view to their participation in the Games’. It is hope that there will be further opportunities, in the forthcoming years, to combine efforts with ESC and the IGAJ through organising courses/seminars and through providing added support services for Jersey’s elite athletes in a wide range of sports.

Associations such as the CGAJ would have great difficulty in supporting and preparing athletes for major events like the Commonwealth Games without the financial help of sponsors. Marks and Spencer, Jersey Ltd. proved to be an excellent main sponsor for the Melbourne Games last year. M and S together with ESC and the Royal Bank of Canada were invaluable in the build-up to those Games and the Association is now keen to attract a main sponsor for the next four year period. Anyone interested should contact Alan Cross on 742254 or by email at alan.cross@cgaj.org

Finally the Association wishes to record its thanks to its patrons; the Lieutenant Governor of Jersey, General Andrew Ridgway and Jersey’s Bailliff, Sir Philip Baillache.