What are the Island Games?
The ‘Inter-Island’ Games were born in the Isle of Man in 1985, with the intention of bringing together a number of small islands from different parts of the world in friendly competition as part of the Isle of Man’s Year of Sport.
Athletes came from as far a field as Iceland and Scandinavia in the northern hemisphere, the British Isles, the Mediterranean, down to St. Helena in the South Atlantic. In total 15 islands took part.
The idea was to provide an opportunity for hundreds of young sportsmen and women from small island communities, to compete and enjoy international competition with other islanders. Other benefits of such a unique festival of sport are the opportunities for cultural exchange and social interaction with visiting teams, and to establish new lifelong friendships with fellow islanders.
In many ways, sporting competition is only one aspect of the success of this event. Just as important are the opportunities it affords to share thoughts and experiences relating to our unique island stories. With that in mind, the theme for our promotion has been ‘to bring islands together’.
The Festival was such a success that it was agreed to continue it every other year, with Guernsey hosting the Games in 1987. The Games have subsequently been held in the Faroe Islands, Aland, Isle of Wight, Gibraltar, Jersey, Gotland in 1999 (the first Games of the NatWest sponsorship), Isle of Man, Guernsey, Shetland Islands, Rhodes, Aland and Bermuda.
The number of Islands participating has grown substantially, and now 24 Islands are members of the International Island Games Association.
The next Island Games takes place in Orkney in 2025. In order to be considered you will need to download the Isle of Man Athletics Selection Policy, read, complete and return a Declaration of Intent Form.
Isle of Man Athletics Island Games Entry Standards / Guidelines 2025
| Men | Event | Women | ||
| A Standard | B Standard | A Standard | B Standard | |
| 11.1 | 11.5 | 100m | 12.6 | 13.0 |
| 22.7 | 23.4 | 200m | 26.0 | 26.8 |
| 50.6 | 52.1 | 400m | 59.5 | 61.5 |
| 1.58.00 | 2.01.00 | 800m | 2.19.00 | 2.22.00 |
| 4.08.00 | 4.12.00 | 1500m | 4.45.00 | 4.52.00 |
| 10.00 | 10.35 | 3000mSC** | 12.00 | 13.00 |
| 15.40 | 16.15 | 5000m* | 18.15 | 18.45 |
| 33.20 | 34.20 | 10000m* | 38.30 | 39.40 |
| 74.00 | 76.00 | Half Marathon | 87.30 | 90.00 |
| 16.0 | 16.5 | 110m/100m Hurdles | 16.0 | 16.5 |
| 57.0 | 59.0 | 400m Hurdles | 67.0 | 69.0 |
| 6.70m | 6.20m | Long Jump | 5.20m | 4.95m |
| 13.40m | 13.00m | Triple Jump | 10.30m | 9.90m |
| 1.90m | 1.83m | High Jump | 1.55m | 1.50m |
| N/A | N/A | Pole Vault | N/A | N/A |
| 13.00m | 12.00m | Shot Putt | 10.50m | 9.80m |
| 53.00m | 48.00m | Javelin | 32.00m | 29.00m |
| 40.00m | 37.00m | Discus | 32.00m | 29.00m |
| 45.00m | 40.00m | Hammer | 36.00m | 33.00m |
| 25:00 | 25:30 | 5000m Walk | 28:00 | 28:30 |
Please note that there are no specific trials for the Island Games. Performances should be achieved during competitions where the results are eligible to be entered on the Power of 10 database.
Where an athlete achieves multiple performances in the same individual event in a single day the following will apply:
- In track events only the fastest legal result of the day will be counted.
- In throwing and jumping events only the best legal result of the day will be counted.
For all relevant track and field events, wind assisted performances (>2.0 m/s) will not be accepted.
Hand timed performances in 100m, 200m, 400m, 110m/100m hurdles and 400m hurdles will be accepted but electronic timed performances will be given greater weight for consideration.
Indoor performances for all field events and for races of 200m or longer will be accepted.
*Only track times will count for 5000m and 10000m qualification. Road times will only be accepted to prove form.
The selection panel reserves the right to make value judgements on selections, on situations they consider to be exceptional circumstances within the spirit and aims of the general policy.
Athletes may only compete in events that they have been specifically selected for. Reserves may be selected as alternates to injured athletes who form part of a team (e.g. Half Marathon or Relay).
There is no right of appeal and the selection panel’s decision is final.