In brief: Orkney’s netball team has travelled to Jersey, Channel Islands, to compete in the 2026 Invitational Island Netball Games, a three-day tournament running until Sunday, 1 November. The squad arrives in good form after three convincing wins on the Scottish mainland, and co-captains say a medal is a realistic target.
Jersey Hosts the Island Netball Games
Jersey is playing host to the 2026 Invitational Island Netball Games, a competition that exists entirely outside the formal International Island Games programme. As the Orcadian reports, netball is not included in the sports available to Island Games hosts, so the tournament has been organised independently by the sport and the participating islands themselves. It is the kind of grassroots, self-starting endeavour that tends to put the big, bureaucratic sporting bodies to shame.
The competition opened on Friday, 30 October, with today’s results determining team rankings before the squads split into two pools for Saturday’s matches. The final day of action falls on Sunday, 1 November. Supporters unable to make it to Jersey in person can follow the action via livestreams on Jersey Netball’s YouTube channel, with updates also available through the Instagram account @Islandnetballgames2026 and Netball Orkney’s Facebook page.
Orkney’s Busy Opening Day
Orkney face a demanding schedule on the opening day, with five matches packed into a single afternoon. They open against hosts Jersey at 1.30pm, before taking on Ynys Môn at 2.12pm, France at 2.54pm, and Guernsey at 3.36pm. They round off the day with a derby clash against island rivals Shetland at 4.18pm. Five matches in under three hours is, by any measure, a serious test of fitness and squad depth.
Orkney are not arriving cold. The Orcadian reports that the squad secured three convincing wins during a recent weekend on the Scottish mainland: a 76-7 Scottish Cup victory over Westhill Wildcats, followed by friendly wins against Aberdeen Nets (68-26) and Glasgow South Saltires (55-27). Co-captain Jaimie Cooper said the weekend had been ideal preparation for the multi-match format. “It felt as though everything had come together and it all clicked,” she said. “We are in a really exciting place with this group of girls.”
Fellow co-captain Erica Tait pointed to 12 weeks of training and external coaching support as key to the squad’s growing cohesion. “We’re proud of what we’re putting on the court now,” she said, adding that a medal is a realistic ambition. Orkney will be drawing on the experience of finishing third at the inaugural netball Island Games in the Isle of Man three years ago.
Community Backing Behind the Trip
The journey to Jersey has not come cheap, and the Orcadian notes that the trip has been supported by 15 Orkney businesses, fundraising efforts, and a National Lottery Awards grant. It is a reminder of the community effort that underpins island sport at this level, where athletes fund their own international competition rather than waiting for a governing body to foot the bill.
Source: orcadian.co.uk
