Basketball team 'buzzing' at Island Games return

The Isle of Man's women's team just missed out on a medal at the 2023 games

Manx basketball players have said there were "lots of celebrations" after it was confirmed the sport would return at the next Island Games in the Faroe Islands.

Judo, basketball, shooting, table tennis, tennis, volleyball and beach volleyball have been added to the programme in 2027 after their omission at this year's competition in Orkney.

But golf, sailing, lawn bowls and squash have not make the cut for the next contest.

Captain of the Manx women's basketball team Becky Dunne said the squad was "buzzing" after they found out the news from the Faroe Islands team while taking part in a recent satellite tournament in Ynys Mon.

Basketball last featured at the Guernsey Games in 2023, where the team lost 73-55 in the bronze medal play-off against the hosts in front of a passionate home crowd.

Dunne said while the sport was growing on the Isle of Man, they still play in a men's league, so "don't get the opportunity play as a women's team unless we travel off island".

She said basketball's return to the multi-sport contest would "give us the opportunity play at another level, with an end goal we can work towards".

The captain said the players had been "gutted" to not be part of the Manx team in Orkney but "were cheering from home".

She said while the team understood why the sport was not featured as "it needs a lots of sports hall, which for a smaller island it's just not manageable", taking home gold from the mini-tournament in Anglesey recently "had been a great experience" for the squad.

"We know we can win medals, we have the skillset and the talent, it's just about being able to get that experience," she added.

The Isle of Man's golfers secured two gold medals at the recent games in Orkney

In late 2023, it was confirmed the Faroe Islands would host the 2027 Island Games after Ynys Mon pulled out due to the costs of putting the event on.

It will be the second time the nation, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark situated to the north of the Shetland Islands, has hosted the games having last held them in 1989.

Other sports set to return to the next international multi-sport event are archery, athletics, badminton, cycling, football, gymnastics, swimming and triathlon.

'Real shame'

The Isle of Man came fourth in the medals table at the 2025 edition of the competition, securing 80 medals.

Three of those - two golds and one silver - were picked up by the men's golf team, which is a sport that will not be represented in 2027.

Manager Gary Ashe said "we couldn't have asked much more" from the players at the recent competition, which had been a "really successful games" for Manx golfers.

He said it was a "real shame" the sport had not been selected for the event in the Faroe Islands due to a lack of facilities that suit the standard of the competition.

But the players "already had their eye" on defending their titles when the sport returns to the competition when the Isle of Man hosts in 2029, he added.