GB stars at School Games

Inspired by the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Sainsbury’s School Games is designed to boost participation in competitive sport for young people of all abilities and backgrounds by significantly enhancing the year round calendar of competitive school sport.

The opening ceremony which begins at 10.25 am, will feature a host of VIPs including two former Team GB athletes and Olympic medallists, Tim Baillie and Dan West

The ceremony will be led by young volunteers from Nottinghamshire’s Leadership Academy, an award winning volunteer programme delivered by the County Council.

The ceremony will also feature performances from the hugely talented Fernwood School Sports Acrobatic Team, Holly Fallon and East Midlands Cheerleading Academy.

Dan West competed for Team GB at international level for over 15 years, representing Team GB at 5 Paralympic Games.

He won bronze at the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games in the F34 Discus. At London 2012, Dan placed in 7th in the F34 Shot Put. Overall, Dan has won an impressive two bronze and one silver Paralympic medals during in career and will be discussing his high and lows of being a professional athlete.

On August 2nd, 2012, history was made at the Lee Valley White Water Centre where Tim Baillie and Etienne Stott were the first British athletes ever to win Olympic gold in the sport of canoe slalom. These-Nottinghamshire based athletes reached the pinnacle of their sport and Tim Baillie will be talking about his experiences at London 2012.

Following this the junior athletes will transition to various venues across Nottingham for the day of competition centred around 16 different sports including golf, tag rugby and lacrosse, where they will compete to try and elevate their school to achieve the status of county champion.

All athletes will have competed in intra-school competitions, followed by district competitions to qualify for the finals.

The Games will be supported by over 100 young leaders from across the city and county also provided by Nottinghamshire Leadership Academy.

Ahead of the festival and at the event itself, people in Nottinghamshire are being urged to back their local schools and athletes through the Sainsbury’s Show your Support campaign.

A campaign bus will visit Sainsbury’s Castle Boulevard store in Nottingham today (Thursday) to encourage the public to pledge their messages of support, either by broadcasting it across the bus, online by using #2014SSG or on the campaign website: www.yourschoolgames.com/Support

Rob Cook, School Games event director said: “The event will be the biggest and best ever Nottinghamshire School Games with over 1200 athletes competing across 16 sports and six venues across Nottingham.

“The event is set to inspire all those that compete to develop a sporting habit for life and uncover some future stars”

Follow the day’s events including live scores, pictures and athlete interviews throughout the day via our Twitter @SportNotts or #NottsSchoolGames.