In 1985 people in the Isle of Man decided to dedicate the year to sport. As part of that celebration, the Island Games were created - a kind of a mini olympics for small island communities, where sportsmen- and women had the chance to compete against other islanders with similar standards of performance. In these first games about 700 competitors from 15 islands (Åland, Anglesey, the Faroe Islands, Frøya, Gotland, Guernsey, Hitra, Iceland, Jersey, Malta, the Orkney Islands, the Shetland Islands, St. Helena, the Isle of Wight, and of course the Isle of Man) took part in 7 sports. At the end of the games in Isle of Man, it was decided to found the I.G.A. - the Island Games Association. The I.G.A. decided to hold the Island Games every 2 years in a different island.

Ever since, the games have grown steadily, and at the games in Gotland 1999, almost 2000 athletes from 22 islands competed in 14 sports. In fact the I.G.A. is now trying to limit the number of members, so the Games dont´t become too big.
A great majority of the islands taking part in the games are European, but also teams from islands as far away as Prince Edward Island (Canada), Cayman Islands (in the Caribbean), the Falkland Islands (South America) and St. Helena (Africa) have participated in the games, and of course, from the north, Greenland.

The Faroese volleyball campaign got of to a good start - the women winning the silver medal and the men winning the bronze, in the first Island Games in Isle of Man 1985.

In the next Island Games two years later in Guernsey 1987, both teams climbed one place: the women winning the gold medal and the men the silver. The womens´ gold was the first ever gold medal the Faroes won in the Island Games in any event.

In 1989 the games were held in the Faroe Islands. On home soil the Faroese women had to settle for silver while the men wrapped up the gold medal.

1991 the games were staged in Åland. This time both Faroese teams slipped one place down the rankings: The women taking the bronze and the men managing a silver medal.

Isle of Wight hosted the Island games in 1993. This time both the Faroese teams ended up with the bronze medal.

The peninsula of Gibraltar - the only non-island in the Games - had the honour of staging the Games in 1995. This time around the women moved up to silver again, while the men had to settle for another bronze.

In 1997 the games were held in Jersey. These games did not bring the best results for Faroese volleyball, although the women just managed to take hold of the bronze medal, but for the first time ever, a Faroese volleyballteam did not secure a medal, when the men only ended up in 5th spot. - Great disappointment for the Faroes!

But in 1999 the smiles were all back again. The women left no doubt about who was the best team in the competition, securing the gold medal, and the men made up for their disappointment last time around, winning the bronze.

In 2001 the Island Games were back where it all started - In the Isle of Man. The women had a gold to defend from 1999 and did just that, beating Saareema 3-2 in a thrilling final. For the second time only, the men did not return with a medal from the Island Games. They lost their Bronze-match aginst Saaremma. But however, this was not so unexpected, as many of the experienced players had called it a day. But instead, hopes are that this new team will make a challenge in the future.

The next Island Games will be in Guernsey 2003.