Andy Jehan was last week named as the man responsible for sport in Jersey. For many this is great news. Not only because Andy is a big sports fan, but because he knows and has been part of local sport for years.
Dan sat down with Jehan for a coffee to hear about his previous sports experience and his main aims going forward for the Jersey’s sports scene.
Andy said ‘I am thrilled to take on this role. Credit where credit is due first of all, Lucy Stephenson was doing a good job. I certainly wasn’t looking for the job but when I got asked I said yes straight away because I have been involved in sport all of my life.’
‘As a youngster I was a very keen and competitive cyclist. I have fond memories of doing 100 mile time trials in Jersey and Guernsey, and different road races. I then discovered football which was a great idea to keep fit over winter, but I ended up doing more in football than I did in cycling. I used to play in defence as a centre back, sweeper or left back and I thoroughly enjoyed it.’
‘I was secretary and president at St John’s football club, as well as being involved at Jersey Football Association grounds team. More recently I have also been involved with St John’s recreational centre where we have hosted 28 different user groups including Archery, Cricket, Tennis, Squash and more, so a wide range of sports. There are many more past experiences within the sporting world too, so I am looking forward to working with island sport again.’
Island Games is a big passion of Jehan’s, and this is something he wants to push whilst in the role. ‘One of the first topics I want to push is to encourage the council of ministers that we should put in a bid for a future Island Games, be that 2033 or 2035. I don’t think I will have a lot of work to convince my colleagues and hopefully the island will get behind such a bid. I need to talk to the Island Games community first before we do that and I will do that soon.’
Islanders have been long asking for more sports facilities in the east of the island. Dan asked Jehan whether there are any plans. ‘When you look east of the island, it depends where you start the east. You look at Langford, Oakfield and then other school facilities that are under utilised I think there is actually a lot of facilities. We need to do more at Le Rocquier, but we need to be realistic and plans need to be achievable, as there were massive plans for that location and I don’t think they were achievable.’
‘Having long experience of running sports facilities, the other thing we need to think about is that it is not just the capital cost of putting structure in place, it is also the revenue costs because whatever facilities we put in place needs to be affordable for users. We need to be conscious of the revenue costs and we mustn’t price users out. We have a lot of facilities that, in my opinion, are not utilised, and we should aim to use those before building new facilities. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be looking at improving Le Rocquier though.’
In terms of more wet weather facilities Jehan says ‘I think we missed a trick when we built Les Quennevais school to not put an all weather surface there. However, we are seeing more schools with artificial pitches rather than grass, and it is seeing if we can team up and utilise that. In the next few weeks I will be looking at what we can do, and see what the community provides. I really supported the indoor cricket centre at St Martins because we see how good are cricketers are, Asa Tribe recently won CI SPOTY Rising Star for example. I have followed Jersey Cricket for many years and have seen how that sport has progressed, and think it is brilliant. Elsewhere, we had a pump track at St John’s. It is on land owned by the environment department rather than infrastructure, and an application for that is something I would support.’
For a long time a 50m swimming pool has been asked for by islanders, on this topic Jehan told Dan ‘I enjoyed watching swimming at the Island Games in 1997, and then again in Guernsey last summer. It is a fantastic sport and one that Jersey excels in. Running a swimming pool is a very expensive business and if we are going to plan it we need to do it in depth, with a big business model. I wouldn’t rule it out, but I certainly won’t make any promises about delivering one in my tenure.’
Finance is a big wall in sport. ‘Sport clearly relies heavily on sponsorship. Yourself and the other media play a big role in that. I have been on both sides of sponsorship deals, and exposure is key when you are looking for sponsorship for sports clubs. The clubs need to demonstrate why it is a good investment to sponsor their club or themselves as an individual. We have to try and work with the business community to get them involved. We see Jersey Netball have lost their main sponsor which is really disappointing. I hope to meet with Jersey Netball to discuss both their sponsorship and facility challenges in the near future.’
Fort Regent is another big topic on islander lips. ‘There has been a huge amount of work done by the last two governments surrounding Fort Regent, one plan was far more realistic than the other. I would love to get a skate park up there as soon as possible. I think we need to make the place safe first of all. The roof is structurally sound, so that is a good start. I think we may need to put a new cover on though. I need to work with the facilities team to see what we can achieve. I have some great memories of the Fort. Playing 5-aside, using the gym, skating and also one of my worst memories when you got thrown into the deep end and got told to swim! I used to watch swimming and diving there too. We need a big space for events and conferences, and the same space could be used for sport so we need to explore that.’
Lucy Stephenson was a champion for women’s sport, and that is something Jehan looks to continue. ‘I see sport as sport, and to encourage participation is vital for all people of all ages. Over 25 years ago I introduced women’s football to St Johns FC, and I have helped and supported Jersey Netball. I have enjoyed working with different sports groups, men and women, and I looking forward to continuing to do what I can for sport in general. We have got to encourage youngsters and teach them the benefits of sport. If you teach youngsters the discipline needed in sports, it will help them through their whole lives.’
Something Lucy Stephenson brought in was the performance sports strategy. ‘I totally agree and back the idea. We see the example at Commonwealth Games where the bar is set high but our athletes work hard and meet those expectations. Then you look at the Youth Commonwealth Games and the results they achieved, it was excellent. The key for the £150k that we have identified for the performance sports strategy is that we don’t spend too much of that on the administration and the majority goes to the athletes themselves. I want to look at how we plan to manage it and I can think of a number of people in the sporting community who may be interested in helping us as well, and if we can do that for as small amount as possible with most the money going to the athletes, it would be the best solution in my opinion. If we can demonstrate that it works hopefully we can increase that funding going forward.’
Bringing sports events to Jersey is something Jehan is keen to do. ‘The skate park at Les Quennevais is a fantastic facility. I want engage with the skate community and see whether there are events that we could host where top athletes come and use the facility. We have to be careful on how we spend our money. For example Super League Triathlon was a superb event, inspired people but it cost so much. That money could go into various different events rather than just the one. We don’t have a lot of money, so we have to really think about how we spend it. We have the infrastructure, we have the people capable of running big events and also the community who will come out and support.’
In terms of disability sport, Jehan is a big supporter. ‘I introduced Frame Football into St George’s school which was great. We have people like Paul Patterson who has done a huge amount of work in that area, and I will be able to speak to him to see where they need additional support, and then we can see if we can provide that. That isn’t a promise and something I have touched on a lot is the finances. I haven’t arrived with a money tree. We just have to make sure we can do our very best.’
Jehan is a supporter of Jersey Sport as well. ‘The report was long overdue and I think it was a balanced report. Lucy accepted all of the recommendations except for two. My way of working is to see who has ownership of those recommendations and what the timeline is. The government receive a lot of reports and recommendations, say that is great and put it in the draw, and we never see it again. I don’t want that to happen and would like to make sure we get things done. I look forward to working with Jersey Sport and making sure the recommendations are being worked on.’
To finish off, Dan asked Jehan what his goals were. ‘My immediate goal would be to get the council of ministers to agree that we put a bid in for a future island games. A skatepark in St Helier, probably at Fort Regent, would be fantastic. I need to find out about where we are going with Fort Regent itself. We need to get the performance strategy started, and begin to support athletes with that. Finally, we need to find a way to get sports events to Jersey. Our island is a great destination for sport because you can come, participate and then enjoy what Jersey has to offer. There is a lot to do but I am really excited to get going.’
