Chris Quine reports on the Commonwealth Youth Games 2004

The Commonwealth Youth Games were a fantastic experience for all three Isle of Man athletes. To go to the other side of the world to meet and compete against some the best young athletes in the Commonwealth - and in some instances the world - is an experience which I am sure will last for their whole lives. The team arrived in Melbourne after a 30 hour journey from the Isle of Man via Manchester and Dubai. On the way, they took time out to try the indoor track facilities at Sports City in Manchester. Whilst in Melbourne the team stayed with the England and Northern Ireland team at Monash University, located about 10 miles from the centre of Melbourne. During this time, the team were taken the Duncan Mackinnon Stadium to train each day. Living with the English team gave the opportunity to see how they prepare for a big event. The warm weather - it is summer in Australia - gave perfect conditions for training as temperatures reached 35 degrees Celsius  - the mid 90's in Fahrenheit. During this time, there was also the opportunity to do some sightseeing around Melbourne and the surrounding area. After five days in Melbourne, the team moved up to Bendigo, located about 100 miles north of Melbourne. Bendigo has a population of about 85,000 and has a colonial feel to it. Temperatures here seemed even hotter. There was two days to settle in before competition began. The team were located in a large bungalow at La Trobe University where all competitors and team officials stayed in what was a Games Village. Eating times gave the opportunity to meet competitors and officials from other teams. The most asked question was “Where is the Isle of Man?”.The Games themselves were not too dissimilar from Island Games in terms of the overall scale of the event. I could certainly see a number of parallels in the organisation. Competitively, at the sharp end the standards were generally higher than Island Games. There was an Opening Ceremony and Chris Whitlow was selected to carry the flag for the IOM team. In the competition, there were teams from, amongst others, England, Australia, New Zealand, India, Scotland, South Africa, as well as smaller countries like the Cook Islands, Jersey and Guernsey. As a summary of the performances, here is how everyone did

Ben Brand:  400m - heat 5th - 52.49 secs (PB). final 7th - 53.09 secs. 

Harriet Pryke:  100m - heat 7^th – 13.29 secs (wind -1.9)   200m – heat 5^th – 26.69 secs (wind -1.8)

Chris Whitlow:  Javelin – 6^{th -} 46.18m (PB)  Long Jump – 7^th – 6.24m (wind 1.6) 

It needs to be remembered that Ben was running against lads 2 or 3 years older than him. Harriet was running against girls 4 years her senior - she will still be eligible for the Games in 2008. The Isle of Man hopes to send competitors to future Games. The 2008 Games will be held in India. Hopefully some of our athletes currently aged around 12-14 will want to train hard and take part next time.  

Three young Manx athletes set off on the trip of a lifetime this coming Monday when they leave with the Isle of Man team for the Commonwealth Youth Games to be held in Bendigo, Australia at the start of December. Chris Whitlow (aged 18), Ben Brand (aged 15) and Harriet Pryke (aged 14) are all members of Manx Harriers. Chris will be competing in the Long Jump, High Jump and Javelin, Ben in the 200m, 400m and 800m and Harriett in the 100m, 200m and High Jump. With competitors from throughout the Commonwealth including a number of medallists from this year's World Junior Championships competition will be tough. As well as the big guns such as England, Australia and South Africa, there will also be a number of other smaller nations taking part. However, it is also a learning experience for all three who will each be aiming to pick some PBs along the way. Hopefully, their efforts will inspire other Manx youngsters to target the next Games to be held in New Delhi in 2008.The athletes will be joining the England team and a number of the other home countries at a holding camp in Melbourne prior to moving up to Bendigo on 29th November. Competition takes on 2nd and 3rd December. Chris competed in the 2003 Island Games in Guernsey. For Ben and Harriet it will be their first taste of international competition. All in Manx athletics wish them the best of luck.

Thanks are also due to a number of organisations who are supporting the team:

IOM Commonwealth Games Association IOM Sports Council IOM Athletics Association The staff and pupils of Ballakermeen High School Manx Harriers Swagelok Ltd Public Lottery Trust Intersport

For more information on the Games see www.bendigo2004.com