JERSEY’S NatWest Island Games windsurfing squad are eagerly anticipating this year’s event in Rhodes.

The five-man squad, which will be reduced to four for the event, are preparing for an early start to training compared to previous Games in Shetland and Guernsey.

Squad captain, Ian Atkinson said: ‘Of all the Island Games that has included windsurfing, the Rhodes event promises to be by far the biggest, best in terms of weather and wind conditions, and the most high profile.

‘The competition is going to be held on new Olympic Class boards and sails and with our strongest ever team we will be training extensively from now up to the event – we have never started training this early even when we got team gold in Guernsey in 2003!’ The current squad, supported by team manager David Davies features Ian Atkinson, Michael Millar, Alistair Varrie, Robert McAllister and Steve Melia and the windsurfers will certainly be tested in Rhodes, with windy conditions predicted to add to the strain of adapting to the new boards.

‘The change of boards and sails for competitions will more reflect the sport of windsurfing and what most windsurfers do when they go out on the water.

It will be more fun to sail when it’s windy but hard work in light winds,’ Atkinson said.

‘In some respects it will be less technical and will mean the weather has more of an impact and therefore it will be less about tactics, and more about strength and stamina and who can get from a to b the fastest.’ The increasing need for strength can be attributed as being one reason why training will begin so early this year, the other being a recommendation from the Island Games Committee, as well as the chance to work with team physiologist and sports performance coach, David Sutton in a few weeks.

With the squad members all affiliated to the Highland Spring sponsored Jersey Association of WindSurfers, selection for the team was decided not by trials between the 50 club members, but relied on the windsurfers declaring an interest.

Atkinson said: ‘We didn’t think trials were necessarily appropriate because it hasn’t worked in the past.

The five guys in the squad all made themselves available and have all done a lot of racing before – Michael Millar won silver in Shetland 2005 and Robert McAllister won gold in Guernsey in 2003 and with Rhodes expected to be windy and sunny, the competition should be a lot of fun.

‘Personally, after previously missing out on a bronze I’ll be unhappy if I don’t get a medal, and I don’t see why I can’t do it.

I’m also confident that we’ve got a strong team and we’ll definitely be going out to Rhodes to try and win it,’ he added.