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OK, I think we can all agree that Triathlon is a Sport.

What's more, I don't think anyone will argue that it is a sport that requires commitment, training, strong mental resilience and endeavour.

However I was left a little confused whilst photographing the Guernsey Triathlon Club's Granite Man yesterday. So confused that I had to lift the dictionary down from the shelf to try and understand what I had experienced 'track side'... especially in the depths of the energy sapping Ronez Quarry section.

Let me explain. I looked up the definition of 'Sport'... this is what I read. ' Sport: an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another'

So Triathlon is most definately a Sport. So what's my problem?

Well I investigated a little further.

The above quote states that when taking part in a Sport you 'compete against others'. So what is the definition of compete?

Quote: 'Compete: to strive to gain or win something by defeating or establishing superiority over others'.

Now this is what was troubling me as this simply isn't what I was seeing as competitors faced the gruelling climb and heat in the quarry as they neared the end of the three disciplines of the Granite Man Triathlon.

By dictionary definition each competitor should have been trying to beat down their opponents. They should have been pressurising them into failure in the pusuit of a win.

But instead the atmosphere was of huge support between competing Triathletes. Encouragement was given to others in the knowledge that maybe each competitor wasn't actually competing against the other but only against themself. There was a respect for all others who were also facing the same challenge.

So my summary of Triathlon as a Sport... at least at our local level is that it is perhaps unique in offering competitors a competition where they don't leave the start line with a win as their outright goal. And it is all the better for that!

I've added a new gallery featuring my Granite Man pics. You will see a surprising amount of smiles too! How do they still have the energy for those? I don't know!
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE 2022 GRANITE MAN TRIATHLON

I guess it is one of those unspoken rules of photography that when a photographer attends a Mega-sized (interesting) event he will be left with a Mega-sized edit to work through when he returns to the studio!

At least that seems to be how it works for me!

I've already posted a Blog commenting on how fantastic the 2022 Vale Earth Fair was for the sell-out crowd who flocked to Vale Castle.

Well I managed to take around 600 pics of the festival during the twelve hours I was there! This is quite impressive I think as I also found time to drink MANY pints of ale too!

The easy part was actually taking all those pics as the atmosphere was amazing... and who wouldn't feel lucky to be able to call standing in front of a live band on stage whilst drinking and taking pics their actual 'day job'!! That's me. Yes I know I'm pretty lucky.

However the actual edit can be a drag, but once I get into a rhythm I seem to be able to fly through the pics. The tip is to only use the tools that Lightroom offers and not to get too 'fancy' with the edit.

Even then a 600 pic edit takes hours and I'm pleased to say all VEF pics are now online, yeay!

I hope you like them.... they can be purchased online - hint, hint!

This is a link to all VEF 2022 Galleries:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE 2022 VALE EARTH FAIR GALLERIES

The 2022 Vale Earth Fair was back at its best after the restrictions of recent years.

The Vale Earth Fair Collective had done an amazing job keeping this little treasure of a festival ticking along whilst facing the huge challenge of the Covid years. Guernsey residents had appreciated and supported their endeavors.

But free of restrictions the 2022 VEF showcased what this festival does best. Once again we had a great lineup of visiting bands together with the best from Guernsey. This attracted a sell-out crowd.

So it turned out to be another vintage year. I think the most notable thing was the mix of people in the crowd, which is always diverse, but this year included many more of what I can only describe as 'full-on festival goers'.

Maybe they have now discovered our little secret?

I've been working on my edit of the pics of VEF and there is a growing Gallery that can now be viewed here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2022 VALE EARTH FAIR

We headed back to the beautiful... normally quiet... Island of Sark on Friday for the first event of a 'double-header' Lawn Mower racing weekend.

The two days of action started with the hillclimb at Sark Harbour hill.

The racing doesn't start until the final boat of the day has docked and the passengers have been transported to the top of the hill by the unique 'Sark trailer bus'. An experience that has to be taken if you ever visit this Channel Island!

But the wait for racing is never boring or wasted as the Bel Air pub is placed adjoining the finish line.

Surely every race track should be designed in this way?

I multi-tasked and managed a few beers together with a few pics. Nice.

There is a new Gallery online if you want to check out my pics
CLICK TO VIEW THE 2022 SARK HILLCLIMB PICS

Have Rovers set the standard for the new football season?

Rovers had a convincing win over North in the 2022 Rawlinson Cup Final at The Track.

They dominated play and were rewarding with a 4-1 win. This result is certain to instill confidence as the Guernsey Priaulx league starts its season. We look forward to seeing how the championship develops.

I was sent down to photograph the Cup Final and was greeted by even less working flood lights than the last time I covered an evening game at The Track! Some areas of the pitch were very poorly lit.

I heard a rumour that funding may be in place to update the lighting at a couple of the Guernsey Club grounds. I hope it's true... and the sooner the better for us photographers.

Oh the players also deserve better light too, ha, ha!!

My pics can be viewed here:
CLICK TO VIEW THE 2022 RAWLINSON CUP FINAL

The ActiveGSY Track & Field event at Footes Lane included at couple of highlights.

Firstly Alistair Chambers visited his old training ground with his Bronze Commonwealth Games medal. He took part in a Q&A giving an insight into the life of a top athlete. The junior Club members were suitably 'star-struck'!

When the attention turned to the track and field Abi Galpin produced an amazing leap in the long jump re-writing Kimberley's 17 year old woman's record.

I've added a new gallery featuring some of the action.
CLICK TO VIEW THE ACTIVEGSY TRACK & FIELD GALLERY

Kiya Ashton & the Folkadelics are a new band on the Guernsey scene and they have quickly developed their own sound. They've already attracted a following during the summer of 2022 and are certainly 'one to watch'.

Their most recent gig was supporting The Pips at St James where they looked at home on the big stage.

You can view the pics of Kiya & the Folkadelics at St James by following this link:
CLICK TO VIEW KIYA ASHTON & THE FOLKADELICS PLAYING AT ST JAMES

Over fifty local firms went to battle on the streets of St Peter Port for the annual Inter-firm relay.

The Cannacord Genuity Wealth Management Inter-firm relay seems to be taken quite seriously by some businesses who manage to enter a team of four who have familiar faces to anyone who follows local sport.

Of course it is a fun event which raises money for good causes but as we know if you are a 'competitor' you are probably 'in it to win it'!

So well done to Ravenscroft for the win and AON for being the first of the losers!!

I have uploaded a few pics here:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW PICS OF THE 2022 INTER-FIRM RELAY

The Pips packed the place!

The crowd at St James was treated to one last performance from The Pips before the band head off to the mainland to try their luck on the bigger scene.

I've enjoyed watching how their performance and style has quickly evolved and I imagine that we will see even greater things from them next time they play locally.

I was amongst a gaggle of photographers capturing this gig and my pics are now online here if you are interested:
CLICK TO VIEW THE PIPS AT ST JAMES

The 2022 edition of the SoPM Summer School Gig was as busy as always.

The stage was set at the Fermain Tavern and ten young bands were lined up to perform in front of family and friends. This is an ambitious challenge for the SoPM tutors but they are now 'old hands' at this!

Their reward comes from seeing the students happy faces and their sense of achievement after performing in a band... often for the first time. The seeds are sown and the future promises lots of live music. Good news!

Ten bands to photograph during the gig has its own challenge for a photographer. I'm very aware that the families and friends don't want me standing in front of their videos and cameras. So my viewpoints are restricted.

Also as there are so many changes of line-ups the stage often has 'unused' mike stands and instruments getting in the shots making it a challenge to get 'clean' images.

Topping off that problem was the bigger one of the lighting. As expected the stage was lit by LED units and (again as expected) they were set to cycle between full green - red - blue solid colour.

There was no additional white fill or back-lighting. Any of you who have worked in this environment will know how hard it is to capture the great results you would like. A lengthy edit correcting colours in Lightroom is inevitable.

But I have to say that all the difficulties are out-weighed by the pleasure of seeing the young performers enjoy their moment on stage. This is one of my favorite gigs.

My pics are now online if you want to take a look:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE 2022 SoPM SUMMER SCHOOL GIG

The Guernsey Motor Cycle & Car Club organised a special summer Sandracing event for its members. This offered them the chance to log up the laps during two days of intensive racing.

The format to combine two days of racing - back to back - clearly had a lot of support.

The number of entries showed that (many of) the racers were prepared to take a Friday off work for day one knowing that Saturday's racing was to follow.

It was great to see such a full line-up on the start line for the bike races. Also there was a larger number of spectators lining the beach wall than for a 'standard' event. This made for a fantastic atmosphere.

All this combined to make a great event and maybe one that will feature in the calendar in future years?

I've added a new Gallery featuring some of my pics:
CLICK TO VIEW THE 2-DAY SANDRACING EVENT

Maybe I simplify things too much sometimes.

To my simple mind you'd think that a gravity aided sport like the GVC MTB Gravity Series would be a bit of a 'stroll in the Park'... wouldn't you?

How hard can it be to roll down a hill on a bike?

Well it seems that 'I know nothing'!

Looking at the grimacing and sweating at Round 4 of the Gravity Series it was clearly a lot tougher than I thought!!

This time the mornings racing included two venues so there was even more demand on competitors as the had to pedal between each one too.

As always the smiles returned at the end of the racing and there was a sense of achievement in the air.

As for me... well I was worn out chasing the action. Maybe it is me who needs to work on my own fitness?

There's a new Gallery of pics online here:
CLICK TO VIEW ROUND 4 OF THE GVC GRAVITY SERIES

The Avon Tyres Motorsport UK British National Hillclimb Championship returned to Le Val des Terres for the first time since 2019... and expectations were high.

The two local rounds were numbered 21 & 22 so there were plenty of reference points established in the earlier rounds and the bet was on that racing would be close and competitive and there was a feeling that the outright hill record would be lowered.

And it was a safe bet on all counts! Hundredths of a second split the competitors and sure enough Alex Summers was the one who left the Island with his name in the record book with a time of 26.56 sec.

Maybe the high temperatures were less that perfect for engine performance but the dry hot surface enabled records to drop in several other classes too.

Well done to all who participated and a BIG thank you to the Guernsey Motor Cycle and Car Club for organising the event. Roll on next year!

This gallery features my pics of all the racing:
CLICK TO VIEW THE 2022 GUERNSEY NATIONAL HILLCLIMB

Jersey welcomed the 'top guns' back to Bouley Bay hill for rounds 19 and 20 of the 2022 Avon Tyres Motorsport UK British National Hillclimb Championship.

As happened to most sporting events Covid had disrupted this exciting motorsport spectacle. So there was a great sense of anticipation ahead of its return to the Channel Islands.

The first rounds of the 2022 championship had already suggested this years local competition was going to be close.

Many of the earlier rounds had already produced new records. Could Jersey join the list?

But, perhaps surprisingly, the record book wasn't re-written this time so we will have to wait twelve months for another try.... or maybe Guernsey's Le Val des Terres will get the new fastest time?

The Bouley Bay gallery is now online and the Guernsey pics will follow after Saturday's racing.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE JERSEY NATIONAL HILLCLIMB PICS

The 2022 Tour of Guernsey was completed with a sixth day of racing on Saturday. The large field of riders covered all ages, all abilities and all levels of fitness!

You might of expected that this could lead to a lack of competition and interest but that couldn't be further from the truth. Each competitor was able to focus on someone near their own ability and once again the atmosphere 'track side' was brilliant!

The hot sun had brought out a crowd of supporters and riders who weren't racing also joined in the encouragement of others.

What a brilliant week and well done to all. There were some really committed, gritty and brave performances... yes it was gritty and brave to get straight back in the saddle after taking a fall!

This is a big gallery featuring Day 6 of the ToG:
CLICK TO VIEW DAY 6 OF THE TOUR OF GUERNSEY

In a strange twist it seems that what goes down must come up!

As the 2022 Tour of Guernsey hit the Islands deepest hole for day 5 I made my way down to the very bottom as there is always an interesting pic available using the Ronez digger as a background.

Day five's course introduced the new 'surface track' to competitors before they headed deep down into Ronez Quarry.

I think it is one of the most popular days of the ToG because it offers the chance to race against a unique backdrop and challenge.

The problem for this photographer is that at the end of the event I'm left with that long hot climb back to the surface. But it is worth the effort? Note the question mark!

This gallery shows all the action from down under....
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE ToG FROM WAY DOWN DEEP

Boxfit gave their members a chance to tick a box once again at KGV.

Now I must admit that this particular 'box' is not one that I have any yearning to put a tick in but it seems there is an enthusiastic line of people who see it different from me!

The experience that attracts them is to go toe to toe in a boxing ring against an equally keen fighter. Part of the whole experience must be the build up, the training and having a 'goal' at the end of tunnel. But on the day there must be a few nervous people slipping on the gloves!

But the look of elation after the final bell showed how happy every one of the fighters were to have completed the journey.

The 2022 King of the Ring event was held at KGV starting in the late afternoon running on into the early evening and the weather could not have been better. A big crowd of supporters enjoyed the atmosphere... and a few beers... and the whole show was great fun.

I was able to cover every Bout and my pics are now online here if you want to take a look:
CLICK TO VIEW THE 2022 KING OF THE RING

So that's the first four days of the GVC Tour of Guernsey photographed.

Day 4 of the GVC Tour of Guernsey headed into St Andrew for a change of scenery and riders were given the added challenge of riding through the pitch dark Underground Hospital... so dark in fact that I couldn't photograph them!

This week is proving to be quite hectic as I juggle my time between this event and other assignments.

But it's well worth the effort as there is always a fun and friendly atmosphere at the Tog as each rider challenges themself to push their limits. Well done everyone.

The first four galleries are online with the finals two days to follow:
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE 2022 ToG PICS

The GVC is back for another week of close racing action at the 2022 Tour of Guernsey. Even after more than a quarter of a century the ToG is still as popular as ever with a large entry for this years event. Taking part demands fitness and commitment for the long haul....

The 2022 GVC Tour of Guernsey started with a challenging morning with riders having to complete three separate courses. But, underlying the wish to win is simply wanting to have fun. How do I know? Well I saw all the smiles on the riders faces!

The scene is now set for the week of racing where strength and stamina will play an important part and if riders can keep smiling I think that will count as 'Job done'.

The first Gallery of the week can now be viewed here:
CLICK TO VIEW DAY 1 OF THE 2022 TOUR OF GUERNSEY

The 2022 BWCI Mini Soccer Festival was held at Footes Lane in sunny weather.

I love photographing junior football as there is always an abundance of enthusiasm on the pitch. There were also some talented and confident young players.

With twenty-one teams taking part including visitors from the UK and Jersey the action was nearly non-stop spread over several mini pitches.

I was able to spend some time on Saturday morning following the games and I've added a new gallery of my pics.
CLICK TO VIEW PICS OF THE BWCI MINI FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT