Island Games: Sicily wins, followed by Sardinia and Azores

Sicily is the winning island of the XVI Jeux des Iles, which came to a close in Sardinia after three days of competition in the sports facilities of Cagliari, Sassari and Alghero, organised by the regional branch of the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) in collaboration with the Comité d'Organisation Jeux des Iles (COJI). It is the fourth victory in a row for the island, with the last achieved on its home turf in 2011, out of the total of eight in which it has competed - making it the all-time winner. In second place within the general rankings was Sardinia and third the Azores. The event saw 1,000 athletes from 12 islands compete, with eight different nationalities: Azores (Portugal), Cyprus, Corfu' (Greece), Corsica and Martinique (France); Elba, Sicily, and Sardinia (Italy); Jersey and Wight (England), Korkula (Croatia) and Malta. Alongside them were their coaches, trainers, journalists and a large number of internet followers, who kept close tabs on the updates on the website, Facebook, the direct broadcasts on Videolina Sport and the streaming on www.jeuxdesiles2012.com. The following is the final rankings for the 16th edition: Sicily 98 points, Sardinia 87, Azores 53, Martinique 50, Corsica 44, Malta 36, Jersey 31, Corfu' 29, Wight 15, Cyprus 12, Elba 10, and Korkula 5. The Fair Play award was given to the Jersey team. During the awards ceremony COJI president Pierre Santoni announced that there would be a competition between the three islands to host the 2013 edition, and that the choice would be announced over the coming months.(ANSAmed).