Devon Summer Ability Games 27th June 2012

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Focus on Fun and Friendship at Ability Games

Children from across Devon have given the county’s Summer Ability Games an emphatic seal of approval.

It was a day full of smiles combined with some serious competition as more than 150 youngsters took part in the latest festival of disability sports at UCP Marjon in Plymouth.

Here are just some of their comments:

“We can make new friends and have fun.”

“We got to do things that I’ve never tried before and I enjoyed it.”

“It’s not about winning, it’s about taking part.”

“It’s good to meet new people and try new activities.”

“I’ve loved everything about it and the most important thing is that we had fun.”

There were a number of sports on show including boccia, football, basketball, indoor rowing and tennis plus taster sessions in table cricket and Frisbee golf.

Plymouth was strongly represented by youngsters from Longcause Community Special School at Plympton St Maurice, Woodlands School
in Whitleigh, All Saints Church of England Academy at
 Pennycross, Stoke Damerel Community College, Mount Tamar School from St Budeaux and Mill Ford School in Ernesettle.

Also competing were The King’s School from Ottery St Mary, Mayfield School from Watcombe in Torquay, Ivybridge Community College, Teign School in Kingsteignton and Ratcliffe School, Dawlish.

Commonwealth Games sprint silver medalist Katherine Endacott from Plymouth took time out from training for a Team GB qualifying place at the London Olympics to take part in the opening ceremony.

She said: “I was inspired watching Linford Christie win gold and I hope I can do that for these children. To be able to come here and speak to them, encourage them and give them the Olympic values is fabulous. Sport can bring such a sense of achievement and an event like this is a fantastic thing for them to do.”

There was a tremendous atmosphere throughout the day as the children played their part in gearing up for the London Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The event was part of a three-year School Games programme with £320,000 of National Lottery cash from Sport England funding up to 18 similar festivals of sport in Devon.

Active Devon, the organisation which helps more people to participate in sport and physical activity, has been a key player in getting the project off the ground.

Its Disability Sport Co-ordinator, Ziggy Grewal, said: “This is a really important event for disability sport. A lot of these children wouldn’t have had access to any other kind of competitive sport. Schools sometimes don’t have as much provision as they’d like but by coming here and seeing how some of the sports are run, teachers and schools will go away with new ideas that will hopefully increase opportunities for participation.”

There are two more sporting festivals for Devon planned before the Olympics begin on July 27. The Devon Games To Inspire are being held in Okehampton on Saturday (June 30) and Exeter will stage the Devon Summer School Games on Friday July 6.

Results...

Stoke Damerel and Woodlands