The Commonwealth Games Association of Jersey (CGAJ) has held its 2019 AGM and re-elected all its officers to serve through until 2023. The same group of officers led the Association through the four year 2018 Games cycle and took the Jersey team to the Gold Coast Games in April 2018.
Paul Du Feu, newly re-elected President, said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed the last four years, we have had our challenges but nothing that the team could not deal with working together. The end result, one of our most successful Games in 2018, made it all worthwhile.”
The full team of executive officers are:
President: Paul du Feu
Vice Presidents: Morag Obarska, Jean Cross
General Secretary: Paul Huddlestone
Treasurer: Graham Huelin
Athletes’ representative: Peter Irving
President Paul du Feu added: “Looking forward, with a ‘home’ Games being held in Birmingham in 2022, we will face a new set of challenges. It’s reassuring to have the complete team staying together for a second four year term. We have a youth Games in 2021 and the main Games a year later, so we will be very busy. We’ve already got eight sports with athletes on the Pathway [the route to making it into the squad] and will be considering how we can support them as they develop more regular and better quality competition off the island.”
At a Council meeting held on the same night as the AGM, the crucial Team Development Process was approved in principle and will be published in final form in the next few weeks. The Association’s Appeals Panel was also elected.
The chairman of the Association’s Validation Group, Graham Huelin, commented: “The athletes from all our sports need to clearly understand what they need to do to be selected, and this is what makes the Team Development Process so important. It sets a clear and objective process that we follow over the Games cycle in developing our Pathway athletes and ultimately selecting the team to go to the Games.”
The Association’s Validation Group, which oversees the Team Development Process during the Games cycle, was elected a few months ago and its actions and decisions are in turn subject to oversight from the Appeals Panel. Graham Huelin added: “The Validation Group and the Appeals Panel are the linchpins of our team selection process and we are fortunate to have a great mix of familiar and new faces on both committees with, between them, an incredible depth of sporting knowledge and experience.”
Paul Du Feu ended by saying: “The 2018 Games are now behind us. Our sports are already gearing up their athletes to look forward to Birmingham 2022 and the prospects look very exciting indeed.”