PAUL HUDDLESTONE has been appointed Jersey’s general team manager for the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in 2006.

Huddlestone is the Jersey Amateur Swimming Association president and was the attaché for the Island team at the 2002 Games in Manchester.

His role also includes the management of a small team of local competitors for the Commonwealth Youth Games which will be hosted in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia at the end of November.

His appointment followed a special general meeting of the Commonwealth Games Association of Jersey on Thursday night and a council meeting immediately afterwards.The association’s new consititution enabled the appointment of its new officers for an extended term lasting until 2007.

They are Martin Hebden as president, Pat Henwood and Mo Le Mottée as the two vice presidents, Alan Cross as secretary and Huddlestone as treasurer.A validation group of five council members, responsible for managing the selection process for Jersey competitors for the 2006 Games, was set up and includes Paul du Feu, Derek Ferguson, Graham Huelin, Gary Jones and Eileen Vowden.Huddlestone said: ‘It’s obviously a great honour to be asked to do the job and I’m pleased that the council had the confidence in me to sanction it.’Represented’It already involves quite a bit of work and my task will be to set the stage to help the Jersey competitors achieve their potential in the Games.

As president of JASA I’ll obviously be keen to look at the swimming but I will also aim to see as many sports we’re represented in as possible – although as yet we don’t know which they’ll be.

‘My immediate task is the Youth Games, which is only ten months away.

We’ve a meeting next week with some of the coaches; it’s important we finalise details as soon as possible.

The November Games will be an ideal opportunity to set the scene for the main Commonwealth Games – I’ll be looking, at first hand, to plan ahead for 2006.’The selection process jigsaw was completed with the election of an appeals panel which is an independent group of five to be called upon in the event of a dispute over any aspect of the process.

Advocate Steven Meiklejohn was appointed chairman with a committee including Brian Ahier, Gail Boswell, Chris Cann and Huddlestone.

The Association is anxious to secure a sponsor for the visit to the Youth Games and invites local companies, if interested, to contact Alan Cross on Tel.

742254 or by e-mail at alancross@jerseymail.co.uk.

for further details.