Commonwealth theme as Active Ashfield Games soar

A skater shows his skills at the finale of the Active Ashfield Games at Kingsway Park, Kirkby.

The event is designed to get more local people involved in sports and leisure activities and was this year themed around this summer’s Commonwealth Games in Scotland.

Among the sports and pursuits featured were hockey, gymnastics, boxing, martial arts, dancing, orienteering, climbing, extreme sports, It’s A Knockout and a circus workshop.

For the first time, it took part in public parks - Kingsway Park on Saturday and Titchfield Park on Sunday - allowing members of the public to come along and join in.

There was also a strong club presence, with Ashfield Gymnastics Club, Ashfield Junior Hockey Club, Mansfield Men’s Hockey Club, Ashfield Aztecs Ladies Hockey Club, Huthwaite Boxing Club and East Midlands Jujitsu Club all in attendance.

Some of the free activities saw teams from the towns of Sutton, Kirkby, Sutton and Selston compete against one another.

A Scottish piper welcomed participants and spectators to add to the festival atmosphere, while an opening ceremony was staged and included the Breaston Highlanders Band and a freestyle footballer.

A total of 28 teams took part across the range of sports, while there were 30 finalists in the dance event, as well as those who participated on the day.

The day also featured a circus workshop.

“This was the fifth time we have staged the event after it was initially inspired by the London 2012, but the first time we have opened it up for the public,” said Ashfield District Council’s sports development officer Carol Hallam. “I think that idea was a big success and something we will do again in future.

“The hope is that we get more people into sport by enabling them to take part in taster and coaching sessions and then join up with clubs.

“These were the final events, but Active Ashfield has been running successfully since April and we’ve been delighted to get so many people giving it a go.”