The 17th biennial NatWest Island Games kicks off in earnest this weekend, with the Isle of Man sending almost 240 athletes and officials to Gotland, Sweden.

The team depart Ronaldsway on Friday morning to head to the Baltic province where they will go up against 22 other competing islands in 14 different sports during the week-long event.

The event will begin with the traditional opening ceremony which takes place on Saturday evening from 7pm in the Strandgärdet Arena in Visby.

Athlete Hannah Riley will be the Isle of Man’s flag bearers at the opening ceremony, while cyclist Elliot Baxter will have that honour at the closing ceremony on June 30.

The youngest member of the team is 13-year-old gymnast Lucy Worthington who will be the island’s water carrier during Saturday’s two-hour curtain-raiser.

More than 2,500 athletes will compete in the biennial event, which was first staged in the Isle of Man in 1985, across the following 14 sports: archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, beach volleyball, cycling, football, golf, gymnastics, shooting, swimming, table tennis, tennis and triathlon.

The largest sport in terms of numbers is, unsurprisingly, football with both men’s and women’s teams hoping to improve on their exploits in Jersey two years ago when the men clinched silver.

The Isle of Man’s swimmers are nearly always in medal contention at the Island Games and that looks set to continue this year, even without the record-breaking Charlotte Atkinson in their ranks.

The 10-strong squad comprises of several first-time competitors combined with some highly-experienced athletes. Competing in their fourth Games will be Laura Kinley and Steph Brew who will be hoping to add to their previous medal hauls.

Breaststroke specialist Guy Davies will compete in his third Games while Alex Bregazzi, Brody Hewson plus Emma Hodgson and Kazia Whittaker will look to build upon their first Island Games in Jersey two years ago.

The newcomers are 18-year-old Joel Watterson, Euan MacMurchie aged 16 and the youngest member of the team, Olivia Marshall at the tender age of 14.

Manx cyclists were in dominant form in Jersey as the men completed a clean sweep of honours with team golds in the mountain biking and road events, with several more individual gold, silver and bronze medals.

Nick Corlett and Nathan Draper were the stars of the show and the former will be in Gotland hoping to successfully retain his MTB success, although Draper is not involved this time around.

In his place, the one to watch could well be Thomas Bostock who goes into the Games in superb form.

The Isle of Man’s athletics team is once again blessed with some serious strength in depth, led by Catherine Reid who was undoubtedly one of the standout performers at the 2015 Games in Jersey.

With a 26-strong team of competitors, there are many medal hopes across the board which could prove crucial if the Isle of Man are to top the medal table like in 2013 in Bermuda.

The island’s first medal hopes on the opening day of action on Sunday lie in either the shooting, which takes place at the Hejdeby and Svajde ranges, or in the triathlon which is centred around Wisby Strand.

The Isle of Man minister for education and children, Graham Cregeen, has praised the dedication of athletes as they depart for the Games.

Cregeen, who will be at the Games to cheer on the team, commented: ’It will be a proud moment for competitors to don Manx colours and represent the island in all 14 sports.

’Their selection follows many years of dedication in training, often making sacrifices to reach the standard they have.

’The Games highlight the Isle of Man’s immense sporting talent and I hope all our athletes achieve their best and put us high in the medals table.

’The strength of our team also reflects the hard work, week in, week out, of our officials and coaches.

’The Isle of Man is the spiritual home of the Games, having hosted the inaugural event in 1985. Since then, the event has held a special place in the hearts of the island’s sporting community.

’We have facilities that are the envy of other nations and programmes that support athletes and coaches at all levels, from those starting out to those achieving success on the world stage.

’Isle of Man Sport, an advisory body to the government that’s funded by lottery receipts, gives significant financial support to the Island Games Association of Mann.

’The team for Gotland includes competitors who have received Sport Aid from Isle of Man Sport.

’Members of the Sport Aid Academy, which nurtures young athletes, will be making their international competitive debut at the Games.

’Isle of Man Sport has also delivered an extensive education programme on doping ahead of the Games.’