Latest news with #MartinWatts
BBC News
24-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Joy and despair as 2027 Island Games sports unveiled
Judo's return to the Island Games has been heralded as "amazing news" for the sport in is one of seven sports to be added to the programme in the Faroe Islands in being added are basketball, shooting, table tennis, tennis, volleyball and beach volleyball after their omission in Orkney this golf, sailing, lawn bowls and squash have all been omitted from the judo it is the sport's first inclusion at an Island Games since Gibraltar in 2019, when Guernsey's five-strong side won a silver and two bronze medals. "It's amazing news for the sport and for judo on Guernsey in itself," Guernsey Judo Club's Eddie Mann said."We had a sort of an idea maybe six months ago that it was possibly going to be in there, so we have initial discussions about who potentially could go."He added to BBC Radio Guernsey: "It'll be a younger team that go across in 2027 compared to who went to Gibraltar."They'll be in their late teens a lot of them, early 20s, and they've got competitions ongoing throughout the year and going into the next couple of years." But while some sports are celebrating, other sports will have to find alternative competitions in 2027, among them sent three male players to the 2025 Island Games earlier this month - the fourth games in the last seven that the sport has been included. "It was great that we were in this year, " said Martin Watts, Guernsey's development officer for squash."It really creates a buzz around the sport. Obviously there's only a limited number of people that can actually go to the Island Games, however those players train, they train with other players and everybody's looking at their results."So without that sort of buzz and that event to look forward to in the next couple of years, it makes it slightly more difficult for the players to train and focus on something."He added: "We do have an alternative which is the European Team Championships."However that is just a team event, there's no individual bit, there's no doubles."So the Island Games being a mixed sport event adds something to it, it adds doubles as well, you have the team event, you have the individual event."So for the players that go and what it brings to our system, it really does raise the level and keep people's focus."
Otago Daily Times
26-06-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Invercargill couple's airport nightmare
An Invercargill couple spent more than 24 hours waiting and queuing when travelling to the United Kingdom as the Iran-Israel conflict threw their schedule into chaos. Michelle Watts and her husband Martin Watts had left Auckland bound for Doha and then on to London. It started well for the couple with what she said was a routine departure from Auckland and a pleasant flight for 15 hours. "The captain came on speaker and said we were landing in Muscat, in Oman, due to the security situation. Only a 20-minute warning before we landed," she said when contacted yesterday. A quick web search soon revealed the reason for the change of landing — the Iranian missile strike on Qatar. Iranian missiles targeted the largest United States military base in the Middle East, Al-Udeid, although no damage was reported. The plane landed in Muscat and the passengers waited on the plane. "We sat on the tarmac in the plane for four to five hours in Muscat before the all-clear and then took off and continued to Doha. We landed at around 2am. "It was a little confusing but obviously we needed to rebook as we had missed our connecting flight. But every other plane arriving had a similar issue, so with the large number of planes arriving the rebooking system was completely overwhelmed by thousands of passengers. "An eight-hour queue stood up, jostling and waiting for a rebooking." They rebooked a flight and thought they were on their way to London. "Once rebooked we felt much happier, only for the new scheduled flight to then be cancelled without explanation. So we had to start the process again and queued for 11 hours this time to rebook." They were expecting to fly out last night [NZ time] for London after waiting for another five-plus hours. She said there was no real tension at the airport regarding the missile attack but she was critical of the lack of a working system when things went off course. "There was an awful lot of frustration at the rebooking system which was immensely slow and inefficient. It was a model of what happens when a possible/likely event is not planned for at all. "We could make many suggestions for systems improvements, many of which were blindingly obvious. "One or two angry passengers needed to be de-escalated by airport security. Staff were at all times pleasant and professional but clearly overwhelmed and not trained for such an event." The couple hoped to get to London at 2pm today [UK time]. From there her husband had a conference lined up while she would be having a holiday. She was not planning to hang around airports.
Otago Daily Times
25-06-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Couple go through airport nightmare
An Invercargill couple spent more than 24 hours waiting and queuing when travelling to the United Kingdom as the Iran-Israel stoush threw their schedule into chaos. Michelle Watts and her husband Martin Watts had left Auckland bound for Doha and then on to London. It started well for the couple with what she said was a routine departure from Auckland and a pleasant flight for 15 hours. "The captain came on speaker and said we were landing in Muscat, in Oman, due to the security situation. Only a 20-minute warning before we landed," she said when contacted yesterday. A quick web search soon revealed the reason for the change of landing — the Iranian missile strike on Qatar. Iranian missiles targeted the largest United States military base in the Middle East, Al-Udeid, although no damage was reported. The plane landed in Muscat and the passengers waited on the plane. "We sat on the tarmac in the plane for four to five hours in Muscat before the all-clear and then took off and continued to Doha. We landed at around 2am. "It was a little confusing but obviously we needed to rebook as we had missed our connecting flight. But every other plane arriving had a similar issue, so with the large number of planes arriving the rebooking system was completely overwhelmed by thousands of passengers. "An eight-hour queue stood up, jostling and waiting for a rebooking." They rebooked a flight and thought they were on their way to London. "Once rebooked we felt much happier, only for the new scheduled flight to then be cancelled without explanation. So we had to start the process again and queued for 11 hours this time to rebook." They were expecting to fly out last night [NZ time] for London after waiting for another five-plus hours. She said there was no real tension at the airport regarding the missile attack but she was critical of the lack of a working system when things went off course. "There was an awful lot of frustration at the rebooking system which was immensely slow and inefficient. It was a model of what happens when a possible/likely event is not planned for at all. "We could make many suggestions for systems improvements, many of which were blindingly obvious. "One or two angry passengers needed to be de-escalated by airport security. Staff were at all times pleasant and professional but clearly overwhelmed and not trained for such an event." The couple hoped to get to London at 2pm today [UK time]. From there her husband had a conference lined up while she would be having a holiday. She was not planning to hang around airports.
