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Talking Sporting Memories and Island Games Memories

It’s not every day we have a current international sportsman facilitating one of our Clubs, but that’s the case with Jack Clubb! Jack (left) was recently part of the Men’s football team representing the Shetland Islands at the Island Games held in nearby Orkney.

In his day-to-day life, Jack is a Sports Development Officer on Shetland and helps to support the Sporting Memories Clubs, one which previously operated in Scalloway and one currently taking place in Brae. We started our conversation with Jack about how Sporting Memories was introduced on the island a couple of years ago.

“I felt it was a perfect fit as it’s such a sporting community up here with a rich history of sport too. In my role as the Sports Development Officer for the local authority, we thought it would be a great thing to offer, so we went ahead and after doing the training session with Donna (Mackey our Development Officer in Scotland) and getting some local volunteers we got the sessions up and running.

“The Brae Club is really strong at the moment and gets a good amount of people coming along every other Friday. We’ve tied it in with a project called the Living Well Hub, which helps local people access services which they may need from a social and community perspective, so we feel that’s worked really well.”

Jack has noticed the impact the Sporting Memories sessions have had on those people in the local community who have been regular attendees.

“We’ve noticed over time as Sporting Memories has run that people often want to talk about local sport, such as the Island Games, so we’ve adapted the conversations and discussions points to reflect that – including finding local archives of pictures - which has gone down well with members in sessions.

“We also do a little bit of physical activity and play some games like boccia and carpet bowls, which have been popular with the members. They often chat about the memories which they have about sport as well when playing, which shows how they can be engaged with the activities we provide at Sporting Memories. We’ve also found using the resources that Sporting Memories have provided have been particularly useful when it comes to engaging the members too.”

Jack shared one powerful moment from his time facilitating our Sporting Memories sessions which not only showed the impact of them but he feels everyone involved with the sessions can feel the benefits.

“There’s one standout – a guy called Jim who’s in his 90s and living with dementia and comes along to sessions – he joined in a little bit with the carpet bowls that we play, but he’s also got a lot of medals from playing bowls in his life and he brought some of them along to one session. To see how that brought him to life, the excitement, passion and how proud he was of it just showed to me how important these sessions can be for people like Jim and it was brilliant to see.

“I don’t think people realise they’ll get out of it until they visit – whether it’s just the enjoyment of being part of something in the community, or the opportunity to share your own memories from a sporting past either as a participant or a volunteer - you can get so much out of it so I’d encourage anyone to come along.”

As mentioned previously, Jack has not only been talking about sport but making sporting history of his own as he competed once again in the Island Games for his beloved Shetland – this time closer to home as the Games were held in Orkney.

Alongside his wife Katie, who was also competing for Shetland at the Games, Jack was glowing about the overall experience of being part of the multi-sport tournament recently.

“It was an amazing week and probably one of the best Games I’ve been involved with. Being a Shetlander competing in Orkney for the Island Games, this event was going to feel the closest to a home games for us. Seeing the number of Shetlanders who made the journey across, the atmosphere across Orkney and the support the Games had from the local community, was something incredible and it was wonderful to be a part of.

“A lot of people are saying it was the best Island Games they’ve ever been to, which considering Orkney is the smallest island to host the Games, is some achievement.”

Part of our activities with the Island Games 2025 has been to gather memories from those who were involved in the competition in any capacity, so we had to ask Jack for his highlights from his time in Orkney.

“Every Games I’ve been to has been unique in its own way, but this one was extra special having so many people down from Shetland supporting me and the team in general.

“A highlight for me was playing our group game against Jersey and we were pushing for a late winner. Seeing and hearing the amount of Shetlanders cheering you on and driving you on to score a winner was something I’ll never forget.

“It’s probably the first time being an amateur footballer that I’ve felt like being part of a crowd for a professional game - that game and the atmosphere is arguably the greatest experience I’ve had playing football.

“My wife was also competing at the games in the athletics, so going down to the track and seeing her compete was amazing. I’ll mention it again but the atmosphere also at the track for a couple of the nights, particularly when there were Orkney athletes competing for medals was brilliant and something which will stay with me. I’ve never seen an atmosphere like it at a Games – some said there were over 5000 people watching at some nights.”

Finally, Jack wrapped up his conversation with us by reflecting on how the Island Games connect nicely with us to help create a place where memories can last.

“I think Sporting Memories is a great platform to share memories of the Island Games in the future. Whether you only get to one Games, or you’re fortunate like me where you’ve been to a few - it’s a great way to not only reminisce about great sporting achievements but also pass on how special those moments can be for their islands and local communities too.”

The Brae Sporting Memories Club is held fortnightly on Fridays at the Brae Youth and Community Centre between 10am to 12pm, with plans to relaunch the second Club on Shetland soon. For further information on both Club, please contact Jack via Jack.Clubb@shetland.gov.uk