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‘Memories of 25’ competition launched

We have launched a creative competition aimed at young people across Orkney to capture their memories from this year’s International Island Games held on the island.

‘Memories of 25’ is asking young people aged from 4 to 25 to share their highlight from the sporting event held across Orkney in July 2025, with a range of prizes on offer for the best entries and the chance to appear at an upcoming exhibition on the island.

We’re looking for young people to share their memories – whether it’s through a drawing or artwork you’ve created, writing a short summary of your memory, or if it’s a picture from the Games – we want you to get in touch and share it with us!

These memories will be collated and eventually displayed on our Replay Memories website, ensuring a long-lasting legacy for the Games, providing Orcadians with the chance to have a library of memories they can fondly look back upon.

Young people who enter could win either a Kirkwall BID or a Love2Shop voucher if chosen as one of our three prize winning entries across five respective age categories, ranging from primary school students, secondary school students and young adults all the way up to 25-years-old.

Competition details, including age categories and how to enter, can be found here.

Orkney 2025 Champions Eve and Finlay share their memories

As part of this competition where we’re asking young Orcadians to share their memories, so we caught up with Island Games 2025 Squash champion Finlay Scott (left) and Swimming Gold winner Eve Wood (right) who both shared their highlights with us. 

Finlay shared:

“The opening ceremony was a big highlight for me. Seeing the amount of people who came out from the local community to cheer on everyone, not just those competing for Orkney, was brilliant. I feel like that was the start of something special happening – I sensed everyone was pretty hyped for the Games and it was an awesome atmosphere. It made me feel proud to be Orcadian.

“After that, personally competing in the Games and then going on to win individual gold and medals for the team was something I never expected. The goal was always to win a medal but to win it in front of a home crowd, in front of my family and friends as well, was unbelievable.”

Eve shared:

“I would say winning the 50m Butterfly. I had set myself the target of doing well in that event - my friends, family and coaches all knew that – particularly as I was seeded first in the event for the Games.

“When I touched the board, turned around and realised that I had won, the pure shock on my face was something that I’ll never forget. It was a moment to realise that all of the hard work was worth it, if you set your mind to it. There’s a great picture from Euan Duff of the moment I’d won which shows it brilliantly.”

How to enter

Share your memory via email to Orkney25@sportingmemories.uk with your name, age and memory included. 

Further details on how to enter, including all the age categories, can be found on our ‘Memories of 25’ Competition page here. 

The deadline for entries is Sunday 30 November - Good luck!