Over 900 local school children took part in a competitive school sport festival as part of the 2018 Winter School Games held right here in the West of England. The three day event took place between Friday 26th January and Tuesday 30th January 2018. The School Games, which were organised by the West of England Sport Trust (Wesport), took place at the University of the West of England.
The three days of high quality competition provided opportunities for both primary and secondary pupils to take part in a range of sports, including Table Tennis, Dodgeball and Sportshall Athletics. The Winter Games incorporated open competitions alongside established County Finals, all run by local sports clubs and volunteers. The events were also supported by groups of Young Sports Leaders from Hanham Woods Academy, Mangotsfield School and SGS College.
The School Games is a national Olympic and Paralympic legacy programme designed to provide a competitive school sport environment for local school children. Funded by Sport England and organised by Wesport and the local School Games Organisers, the School Games programme provides a competitive school sport structure and pathway for young people in the West of England.
Andy Blackmore, Wesport’s Senior Project Manager said:
“This year’s Winter School Games was a fantastic celebration of the West of England’s best young sporting talent. It was inspiring to see such a high standard of competition across all sports and a great display of sportsmanship from the young athletes. We now look forward to our Spring and Summer Games in April and July this year.”
Some of the highlights of the 2018 West of England Winter School Games included:
Dodgeball:
This year saw the second year of our Primary Dodgeball competition. After being introduced as an Open competition last year, it was fantastic to see it grow into a truly competitive County Final with all schools having qualified through their local rounds. Year 5/6 pupils from 10 schools battled it out in 2 groups of competition, with some very close games and great enthusiasm and teamwork from the athletes. The Park won the Bronze medal over Oldfield Park, and a thrilling Final saw Beacon Rise clinch the Gold, with Elmlea Junior School taking the Silver.
Table Tennis:
Another fantastic display of talent was seen in the KS3 Table Tennis competition. Run by coaches and students from the SGS Table Tennis Academy, this is always a brilliant competition with some very high standard players. After some very close matches, Ralph Allen managed to come 1st in the final against Mangotsfield, and St Gregory’s took the Bronze medal.
Sportshall Athletics:
Monday saw the return of the Sportshall Athletics event, with both Primary and Secondary schools taking part in respective competitions. The events featured sprint relays, obstacle relays, jumps and throws. It is always a very popular event and all the schools showed wonderful enthusiasm resulting in their enjoyment of the day.
The Year 5/6 Primary competition was won by Headley Park, with St Stephen’s CE VC Juniors taking Silver and Mangotsfield taking Bronze.
Gordano had a strong presence in the Secondary school event, taking first place in the Year 7 Girls and silver in the Year 8 Girls competition. St Katherine’s, Downend and Ashton Park took the top 3 places respectively in the Year 7 Boys, with only 5 points between Gold and Bronze! Oldfield took Gold in the Year 8 Girls, with Colston Girls’ School taking Bronze.
For more details, please visit www.wesport.org.uk/schoolgames or contact Andy Blackmore on 0117 328 6250 or email info@wesport.org.uk.
