Surrey Youth Games sporting celebration brings training to a close
The training has been taking place over the last few months.
Last updated 18th Jun 2022
The Specsavers Surrey Youth Games is one of the largest multi-sport youth event of its kind in the South East of England, and today they're celebrating the success of the programme making it's return post pandemic.
The games sees young people across the county taking part in free local training, specifically for 6-16 year olds who may not typically have the access to the sort of sports that others may take for granted.
Following the pandemic, the training kicked off at Easter in each of Surrey's boroughs and districts, with their final celebratory event taking place from 10am this morning at the Surrey Sports Park in Guildford.
The training aims to help beginners in sport when they may usually not be able to attend clubs or may be put off by the thought of competing.
Active Surrey Marketing and Communications Lead, Bob Pritchard has been setting up the event over the past few days, he said, "The idea, we hope, is that these young people having learnt what it feels like to be part of a team and part of something bigger will be able to carry on with their sports.
"Or at the very least if not with these specific sports, if they've got the activity habit and they've got the bug."
Bob and the Active Surrey team work almost eight months in advance to work with councils and their sponsors to organise the training and the celebratory event.
This year, there will also be a family zone, where families, whether they have members taking part in the games or not, can attend the celebratory event and try out new events such as archery and the climbing wall.
One of the highlights of the celebratory event is seeing the young people showcase their new skills from the training.
Bob said:
"Sometimes you see them get involved in the activities and they realise they're part of this much bigger whole than they're used to.
"Each borough and district has their own coloured t-shirts and it's that kind of collective spirit of everyone coming together, it's quite special."
This year, another new addition is the use of the local CIC Community Kit Bag, who will be at the event. They take in sports kit such as clothes, shoes and equipment, clean it up and pass it on to those who are in need.
During the event, the Community Kit Bag will be there to both help those who need sporting equipment, as well as welcoming donations from families who may have old kit that they no longer use or have grown out of.
Buses are also running a free park and ride for those who are able to attend from Surrey University.
Specsavers have been sponsoring the event throughout it's organisation and training, and in the lead up to the games have donated £5000 to certain clubs to allow them to buy more equipment, which the young people can continue to use after the event.
The Specsavers Surrey Youth Games is running on Saturday June 18th at the Surrey Sports Park from 10am until 4pm.