Shropshire School Games kick off at Lilleshall

Bosses at Lilleshall National Sports Centre hope that the spectacular School Games which were continuing today will encourage more people to make use of the world class opportunities on their doorstep.

Hundreds of secondary school pupils from across Shropshire were today enjoying the second day of the Olympic-style competition taking place at the centre, near Newport.

Youngsters from across the county were competing to be named champions in a wide variety of sports including hockey, netball, table tennis and rounders.

Yesterday about 500 primary school children visited Lilleshall for the first day of the competition.

It started at 9.45am with an opening ceremony, featuring a speech by former Queen’s Park Rangers footballer and Paralympian Alistair Patrick-Heselton after which children took part in their sports.

And they were competing just metres away from professional athletes putting in the final hours of practise before the real Olympic Games later in the month.

Today it was the turn of children from Years Seven to Nine.

The young sportsmen and women taking part had qualified for the finals after first winning in-school competitions and then inter-school contests in six areas – East Shropshire, South Shropshire, Shrewsbury, North Shropshire and two in Telford & Wrekin, known as the Phoenix and Madeley regions.

The overall winners received medals before the closing ceremony in Wenlock Hall. Children also had a chance to try their hand at archery.

Volunteers

A group of around 20 young people from across Shropshire, all aged between 14 and 18, formed the School Games Youth Forum to help organise the event.

Both yesterday and today there were 200 volunteers on site to make sure it ran smoothly.

They have been meeting regularly since February to plan all aspects of the competition.

“This is the biggest event of school sports that we’ve had,” said Youth Forum facilitator Jack Pringle. “It’s all about promoting sport, sportsmanship and enjoying yourself.”

The School Games were designed to build on the enthusiasm leading up to the London Olympics and to give youngsters an opportunity to take part in sport.

Events are being held across the country and have been supported by more than £128m of Lottery and Government funding.

The Games have received the backing of former Olympic heptathlon champion Denise Lewis and Prince Harry has been appointed president of the competition.

Bosses of the sports centre say the games are helping to promote the centre locally.

Martin Barrett, the sport development manager at Lilleshall National Sports Centre, was hired in September to raise its profile.

He said: “The whole idea was to really shake up the perception that Lilleshall is only here for athletes training for the Olympics and other major competitions.

“It’s here for the community as well. We have got to inspire the next generation.”

Chris Child, chief executive of Energize, a partnership to promote sport in the county, said it was about striking a balance between providing facilities for the professional athletes and serving the local community.

“When people think about Lilleshall they think of professional athletes,” he said. “Birmingham has Villa Park, London has the Olympic Stadium, but we’ve got Lilleshall.

“The community has always accessed it but only when they could. Now we have a better balance with the community getting more access. Two years ago we wouldn’t have been able to do something like this here. It’s great to see.”

Lilleshall is host to both British Archery and British Gymnastics, both of which are Olympic sports.

By Sean Wozencroft