The IGA was founded in the Isle of Man in 1985. Its members currently are: Åland, Alderney, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Frøya, Gibraltar, Gotland, Greenland, Guernsey, Hitra, Isle of Man, Isle of Wight, Jersey, Orkney, Menorca, Prince Edward Island, Rhodes, Saaremaa, Sark, Shetland Islands, St. Helena, Western Isles, and finally, Ynys Mon (Anglesey).

Menorca of Spain became the twenty-fifth member in July of 2005.

The International Island Games Association (IGA) liaises with the member island associations and with sponsors of the games. It investigates whether islands wanting to join fit the membership criteria. After the arrival of Menorca, any further additions would require changes to the constitution.

Game venues
1985 Isle of Man 1987 Guernsey 1989 Faroe Islands 1991 Åland 1993 Isle of Wight 1995 Gibraltar 1997 Jersey 1999 Gotland 2001 Isle of Man 2003 Guernsey 2005 Shetland 2007 will be Rhodes 2009 will be Åland

Sports

The host country chooses between 12 and 14 different sports for their games from this list: Archery Athletics Badminton Basketball Bowling Cycling Football Golf Gymnastics Judo Sailing Shooting Squash Swimming Table Tennis Tennis Triathlon Volleyball