Mix of sports helps make Kent School Games so popular, says Dame Kelly Holmes
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by Graham Jones
Double Olympic gold medallist Kelly
Holmes believes the mix of sports provided by the Kent School Games
is a major factor in its popularity and success.
More than 30,000 young people, aged
five to 16, will compete in 38 different sports, including
disability sports, during the 2010 event which got under way this
month.
And Dame Kelly says that bringing
different types of activities into schools is important for sport
to have a wider appeal.
She said: "When I was at school the
traditional sports were there. Everyone did cross-country, hockey,
netball and football but not all children like those sports so
unless you bring that variety you won’t engage everyone.
"The Games enables young people with
disabilities the chance to participate in an environment they would
never normally get the chance to, as well as those people who
aren’t really keen on sport but want to do some activity."
Dame Kelly thinks youngsters can learn
a lot of things that will serve them well now and later in life
through competing in events such as the Games.
She said: "Competition was a word that
people used to not want to bring to the forefront but it has to be
competitive.
"You have to have sport that has a
competitive angle but in a fun way as well, because life is
competitive.
"We need to instill in young people
that sometimes people lose. You don’t win everything in life, you
pick yourself up, learn from it and move forward. That is what
sport can bring.
"Sport has so many qualities for young
people. The health benefits are one but communication skills are
really important for young people now, as is working with
peers."
The former Great Britain middle
distance runner is delighted to see so many people getting involved
with the Games.
She believes the event has been such a
success in Kent that it will be duplicated elsewhere in the United
Kingdom. "There are youngsters, along with their teachers and
parents, getting involved with a variety of sports that aren’t just
about Olympics or Olympic level but having fun and participating,"
she said.
"With 38 sports and over 30,000 people
taking part in heats over eight months until the finals, it is a
massive event.
"There isn’t anything else like this
in the UK and I am pushing for this to be replicated in other
counties so we can have a national finals. It is early stages but
people are interested in the model for the games in the immediate
area around us such as Essex, Surrey and East Sussex.
"We’re so close to London for 2012
that we can make our young people feel part of that journey by
hosting this now and potentially again in 2012.
"But this isn’t something like the
Games that will stop at 2012. This is something that can grow and
if we can get it nationally then it will be something we can leave
as a legacy."
Monday, November 09 2009
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