For a small country, sport in the Isle of Man plays an important part in making the island known to the wider world. The principal international sporting event held on the island is the annual

Isle of Man TT The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man in May/June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907. The event is often called one of the most dangerous racing events in the world ...

motorcycling event. However, the Isle of Man is represented internationally in a number of other sports at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

and the

Island Games The Island Games (currently known as the NatWest International Island Games for sponsorship reasons) are biennial international multi-sports events organised by the International Island Games Association (IIGA). Competitor teams each represent d ...

International sport

The Isle of Man hosted the IV

Commonwealth Youth Games The Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG) is an international multi-sport event organized by the Commonwealth Games Federation. The games were held in the years, mid-way between when the Commonwealth Games are held, until 2008. They continued to be held ...

in September 2011. The island started the

in 1985 and hosted them once again in 2001. The most notable international event held on the Isle of Man is the

motorcycle races, held annually in June. Rower Sidney Swann and cyclist

Peter Kennaugh Peter Robert Kennaugh MBE (born 15 June 1989) is a Manx former professional racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2010 and 2019 for and . In 2012 he won the gold medal as part of the Great Britain Team Pursuit team at the 2012 Summ ...

are the only islanders to have won

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

gold medals, while polo player

Frederick Agnew Gill Captain Frederick Agnew Gill (25 May 1873 in Castletown, Isle of Man – 4 June 1938 in Emery Down) was a British Army officer and a polo player in the 1900 Summer Olympics. He was polo manager at the Ranelagh Club in London. Biography He was ...

won a bronze medal in 1900 and cyclist

Mark Cavendish Mark Simon Cavendish (born 21 May 1985) is a Manx professional road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . As a track cyclist he specialises in the madison, points race, and scratch race disciplines; as a road racer he is a ...

won a silver in 2016. In the Olympic Games, Manx athletes may compete in

Team GB Team GB is the brand name used since 1999 by the British Olympic Association (BOA) for their Great Britain at the Olympics, British Olympic team. The brand was developed after Great Britain at the 1996 Summer Olympics, the nation's poor perfor ...

Cricket

The Isle of Man Cricket Association broke their affiliation with the Lancashire Cricket Board in 2004 to become affiliate members of the

International Cricket Council The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are 108 national associations, with 12 Full Members and 96 Associate Members. Founded in 1909 as the ' ...

and compete as a national team in their own right. The

Isle of Man cricket team The Isle of Man national cricket team is the team that represents the Crown dependency of the Isle of Man in international cricket. They became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2004 and an associate member in ...

competed in their first official ICC competitions in 2005.

Cycling

The Manx Trophy cycling event is held annually. The Isle of Man boasts a very strong showing in the world of cycling, with several high-profile names and many talented up-and-coming young riders. Manxman

won two World Championships in the Madison, having won the event in Manchester at the

2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships The 2008 UCI Track Cycling World Championships were the World Championship for track cycling. They took place at the Manchester Velodrome in Manchester, United Kingdom from 26 to 30 March 2008. Eighteen events were scheduled; the women's team pur ...

along with race partner

Bradley Wiggins Sir Bradley Marc Wiggins, CBE (born 28 April 1980) is a British former professional road and track racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 2001 and 2016. He began his cycling career on the track, but later made the transition to r ...

, and also with

Rob Hayles Robert John Hayles (born 21 January 1973) is a former track and road racing cyclist, who rode for Great Britain and England on the track and several professional teams on the road. Hayles competed in the team pursuit and Madison events, until h ...

at the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

World Championships in 2005. In 2006, he won a gold medal in the

Scratch race A scratch race is a track cycling race in which all riders start together and the objective is simply to be first over the finish line after a certain number of laps. UCI regulations specify that a scratch race should be held over 15 km for ...

on the track at the

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. After failing to win a medal in the Madison at the 2008 Olympic Games, Cavendish switched exclusively to road racing. He currently rides for . His sprinting abilities have made him one of the most prolific talents in British cycling, with 34 stage wins to date in the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

between 2008 and 2016, and the

green jersey In road bicycle racing (e.g. Grand Tour stage races) the green jersey is a distinctive racing jersey worn by the most consistent highest finisher in the competition. While the overall race leader in the Tour de France will wear the yellow j ...

in the

2011 Tour de France The 2011 Tour de France was the 98th edition of the race. It started on 2 July at the Passage du Gois and ended on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 24 July. The cyclists competed in 21 stages over 23 days, covering a distance of . The route e ...

. In 2011, Cavendish, with the support of the British team, won the World Championship Road Race. In 1970, Manxman Pete Buckley won a gold medal in the Men's Road Racing Championship at the Commonwealth Games in Christchurch. Just a couple of years later, his life and career were cut short when a dog ran into the road, causing Pete to crash and subsequently die from the resultant cerebral injuries.

Rugby union

There are five

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

clubs in the island. The main domestic competition is the Dorchester Maritime Manx Cup; the secondary domestic competition is the Shimmin Wilson Manx Shield. The current holders of the Manx Cup are

Douglas Rugby Club Douglas Rugby Club (also referred to as DRUFC) are a rugby union club based in Douglas on the Isle of Man. The club has two senior sides and age-range teams encompassing both mini and junior rugby. The men's 1st XV currently play in Regional Two ...

and the Shield is held by Ramsey Rugby Club. The other island clubs are Castletown Rugby Club, Southern Nomads Rugby Club and Vagabonds Rugby Club. Douglas, Vagabonds and Ramsey participate in the English leagues.

Motorcycle racing

The Isle of Man is famous for its TT motorbike racing event, which began in 1904 as a motorcar race. TT stands for ''Tourist Trophy''. From 1905, the TT was held as a closed-roads motorcycle racing event and the original course was extended in the 1920s to use the current Snaefell Mountain Course. This is now a series of annual motorcycle road races over held from late May to early June. The 4.25-mile (6.84 km) Billown circuit near Castletown has been the scene of further events such as the Southern 100 in May, June and July since 1955. Further racing takes place on the TT course each August–September in the form of the Manx Grand Prix (MGP). The idea of motor cycle racing for amateurs and private entrants on the famous TT course gave rise to the birth of the MGP back in 1921. Linked to all this motor cycle racing are the Supporters Clubs, Riders Associations, the TT Marshals Association and the MGP Marshals Association.

Rallying

The Isle of Man hosts a number of rallying events including the Rally Isle of Man (formerly the Manx International Rally or Manx Trophy Rally) a round of the British Open Rally Championship. Also the Manx Rally (formerly the Manx National Rally), a round of the British National Rally Championship. Mark Higgins is a noted Manx rally driver, having won the Manx Rally a record five times, along with other events.

Association football

Association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

is also popular, with the

Isle of Man Football Association The Isle of Man Football Association, also simply known as the Isle of Man FA or the IOMFA, is the body that co-ordinates and organises the sport of football on the Isle of Man. Although, as a Crown Dependency, the Isle of Man is not a part of t ...

running a league of 27 clubs in two divisions, as well as a

football combination The Football Combination was a football competition for the reserve teams of English Football League clubs from Southern England, the Midlands and Wales; other clubs from the Midlands and those from the North playing in the Central League (it is n ...

for the reserve teams of the league clubs. There is also a national football team and Ellan Vannin team, although they do not participate in

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

or FIFA tournaments. The

has the status of a

County Football Association The county football associations are the local governing bodies of association football in England and the Crown dependencies. County FAs exist to govern all aspects of football in England. They are responsible for administering club and play ...

within the

English Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world an ...

so is therefore represented by the

England national football team The England national football team has represented England in international football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in England, which is affilia ...

. People born in the Isle of Man are eligible to play for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

In August 2019, it was announced that FC Isle of Man was investigating plans for a new club to be formed on the island which would join the English football league system. In December 2019, the club officially applied to join the North West Counties Football League, at Step 6 of the English non-league system. The league would then take the application to the Football Association with 'a recommendation that FC Isle of Man is accepted providing the appropriate criteria met by 31 March 2020'.

Gymnastics

The Isle of Man has very successful men's and women's gymnastics teams and individuals competing in European, Commonwealth and World level events. The Isle of Man Gymnastics Association sends selected gymnasts from local clubs including Ellan Vannin and Manx Gym to events such as the Commonwealth Games, Island Games, Northern Europeans, and Celtic Cup, where the island competes with national representation. Island gymnasts also compete in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and further afield at both Championship, Challenge or Graded level. The sport has a very large growing young population, with larger Douglas clubs Manx Gym and Ellan Vannin, and smaller clubs Southern Gymnastics and Northern Gymnastics, drawing from the schools and the kindergartens.

Hockey

There are many Manx

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

teams, with mixed, men's and ladies' leagues. The mixed league runs from September to December with the men's and ladies' leagues running from January to April. Each club has a nominated home pitch which is one of the National Sports Centres regional astro turf pitches. Bacchas, Vikings & Harlequins Hockey Clubs all play at the NSC in Douglas
Valkyrs Hockey Club
play at the QEII High School in Peel, Castletown and Saracens Hockey Clubs play at Castle Rushen High School an
Ramsey Hockey Club
play at

Ramsey Grammar School Ramsey Grammar School is a coeducational comprehensive secondary school located in Ramsey, on the Isle of Man. History A grammar school has existed in Ramsey since 1681. It moved to Lezayre Road in 1933 and was housed in a building that now f ...

. Th
Manx Hockey Association (MHA)
maintains live records of all league fixtures, results and scorers. The Isle of Man is also home to the annua
Whit Hockey Festival
Held over the last weekend in May, the tournament welcomes many sides from around the UK to play mixed, men's and ladies' hockey at all levels of ability. Acting on behalf of the Isle of Man Government, the entire event is covered by professional photographer
John Coxon

Shooting

Target shooting has a long and successful tradition on the Isle of Man. Ranges and clubs exist for rifle, pistol and shotgun disciplines and the various elements come together under the umbrella organisation, the

Isle of Man Target Shooting Federation Isle of Man Target Shooting Federation (IOMTSF) is the umbrella organization for shooting sports on the Isle of Man ) , anthem = " O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsiz ...

. Shooting has won more medals for the Isle of Man at the Commonwealth Games than any other sport. The Islands shooters include World medalists, British National Champions as well as Island Games Champions where collectively shooting is one of the most active sports.

Athletics

Athletics is also well supported on the Isle of Man. One of the highlights of the race calendar is the Easter Athletics Festival, a great social and athletic weekend, now in its 46th year. Manx Harriers is the main athletics club on the Island, and it is successful in the UK when teams of athletes go to compete. (2008).

Cammag

The sport of

cammag Cammag () is a team sport originating on the Isle of Man. It is closely related to the Scottish game of shinty and is similar to the Irish game of hurling. Once the most widespread sport on Man, it ceased to be played around 1900 after the introd ...

originated on the Isle of Man. It is similar to the Scottish game of shinty, and

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

hurling. Once the most popular sport on the island, it ceased to be played by the start of the 20th century. It has more recently been revived with an annual match at St John's.

Taekwondo

Taekwondo is a martial art sport that is growing in popularity. Th
Isle of Man Taekwondo Association
was admitted as an associate member of the

World Taekwondo World Taekwondo, called the World Taekwondo Federation until June 2017, is an international federation governing the sport of taekwondo and is a member of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF). The ''World Taekw ...

in 2006 and the Isle of Man can compete as a country in WTF competitions.

Other sports

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

is also played in the Isle of Man. The Monarch Assurance International

Chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

tournament was held in

Port Erin Port Erin ( gv, Purt Çhiarn, meaning ''lord's port'') is a seaside village in the south-west of the Isle of Man, in the historic parish of Rushen. It was previously a seaside resort before the decline of the tourist trade. Administratively it ...

every September–October from 1992 to 2007. The

PokerStars PokerStars is an online poker cardroom that was a part of The Stars Group until it was sold to Flutter Entertainment on May 5, 2020. It can be accessed through downloadable poker clients for the Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. It is the l ...

Isle of Man International Chess Tournament took place in 2014 and 2015 in

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civi ...

. In 2016 Chess.com became the new sponsor of the event, which was renamed to Chess.com Isle of Man International. The board game of Go visits the island biennially. There is also a growing mud and obstacle running scene, with the Tough Mann Adventure Challenge starting in 2013. Race Walking is popular as well and culminates in the yearly Parish Walk, a non-stop race over 85 miles.

References

External links

Isle of Man Basketball Association
Website of the Isle of Man Basketball Association
IOMGuide.com
- TT aerial view
IOMTT.com
- racing and message board discussions
Manx Hockey Association

Isle of Man Gymnastics Association Website

Get Fit or Get Eaten
Isle of Man Based Mud & Obstacle Racing Team {{DEFAULTSORT:Sport In The Isle Of Man