Children in Birmingham get sporty following Commonwealth Games
Birchfield Harriers Athletics Club is hosting a festival today.
The athletics event will be held in Sutton Coldfield, with over 100 children taking part. The 7-16-year-olds will get coaching in a variety of events, including pole vault, high jump, long jump, sprinting, and javelin.
That will be followed by competition in the afternoon to give kids a feeling of what it’s like to be a competitive athlete.
Birchfield Harriers has a long history of producing successful athletes including Denise Lewis, Mark Lewis-Francis, and recent world medallist Matthew Hudson-Smith.
The club's home is the Alexander Stadium, the home of British athletics and the base of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. The stadium will undergo some renovations to remove extra seating following the Games, and will be Birchfield’s home once again later in the year.
Funding for the athletics festival has been provided by property consultancy firm Knight Frank, who announced they will sponsor Birchfield Harriers for three years.
Cath Muth of Birchfield Harriers said: “This partnership will be of great value to the Club, and we are thrilled that Knight Frank will be part of our future. We have some ambitious plans to build on our success as we return to our home, the Alexander Stadium, after three years of being a nomadic club.
“As we work together to build our relationship, on and off the track, we hope to find more future champions through our grassroots programmes and from the support we will be able to give our more established athletes who are bordering on international success.
"There are exciting times ahead for Birchfield Harriers and Knight Frank and we can’t wait to welcome them to the stadium later this year.”