How Gray Dawes provided golden service for Ynys Mon Island Games Association

How Gray Dawes provided golden service for Ynys Mon Island Games Association

July saw WSA member Ynys Mon Island Games Association (YMIGA) travel to Orkney for the 2025 Island Games, with the support of our partners at Gray Dawes Sports.

Held once every two years, the Island Games bring thousands of athletes from islands across the globe together through sport.

A founder member, Ynys Mon has attended every edition of the Island Games since the inaugural event on the Isle of Man in 1985 up to this year’s edition in Orkney.

With hundreds of participants and staff travelling to compete to the same location, logistics are invariably complicated. As a WSA member, YMIGA took advantage of our partnership with travel specialists Gray Dawes Sports this year.

“They provided a comprehensive travel management service, handling all aspects of our group travel logistics,” Tom Rogers, Ynys Mon Team Manager, told us.

“Initially this including the research into travel options for the Ynys Mon Island Games Team from Anglesey to Orkney – balancing costs with the ease of getting all team members and sport equipment onto the island alongside an additional 22 islands making a similar journey.”

“The final travel plans included coach transfers and ferry crossings for our athletes, coaches, and team officials,” he continued.

“With more than 100 team members travelling from Anglesey to Orkney, their expertise in coordinating the unforeseen complexity in getting the whole team to Orkney within a narrow timeline was invaluable.”

Gray Dawes specialise in allowing maximum efficiency for clients, ensuring smooth processes and detailed planning throughout – from planning trips to the final travel confirmations.

As a collective of volunteers undertaking this extensive project, this was key for the YMIGA team.

“Their attention to detail and proactive communication took an enormous amount of pressure off a team of volunteers and organisers, allowing team officials and coaches to focus on athlete preparation rather than travel logistics,” confirmed Tom.

“The option to pay a single supplier supported the organisation to manage payments and reporting against any funding – avoiding the need to make payments to a number of travel companies representing different stages of the journey.”

The release of this burden proved important in the build-up to the Games, with Ynys Mon bringing home a fantastic haul of eight medals, including two Gold.

Accompanying two Silver medals int eh same sport, both Golds came in Athletics, as Beca Bown was victorious in the Women’s 1,500m and Ffion Roberts in the Women’s 400m.

Two more Silver medals came through Sailing, as well as one from Football, while Calla Woodcock also claimed Bronze in Gymnastics.

“Being able to rely on such a dependable service made a huge difference to our overall preparations for the Games,” Tom stated.

“We had complete confidence that every travel arrangement was in safe hands, and that reassurance was priceless for a volunteer led organisation in the busy months leading up to the event.”

Learn more about Gray Dawes here.