Young athletes from Greater London have been selected to compete at the 2022 School Games National Finals, the UK’s biggest multi-sport event for talented young athletes across the UK from September 1-4 at Loughborough University.
This year over 1000 young athletes at the event hope to follow in the footsteps of Adam Peaty, Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Hannah Cockroft who formerly competed at the National Finals and this year went on to compete at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
School Games National Finals alumni secured 100 medals at Birmingham 2022 between them, which would place the multi-sport competition third in the medal table if it were a country. It is the aspiration of this year’s athletes to create their own path for success.
The four-day event will host aspiring athletes aged 13-18 who will compete across 10 sports, four of which include disability disciplines, and provide opportunities outside of the competition too.
Among those competing in athletics are Barking's Ossari Acquah, Brent's Rayne Tapper, Camden's Illias Zghoundi, Hornchurch's Callia Downey, Trey Corlis of Islington, Linus Emuna of Newham and Romford trio Christopher Hughes, Stephanie Okoro and Paris King.
Ilford's Amuruthaa Surenkumar competes in cricket and Louis Tay-Edwards in BMX, while Woodford Green's Henry Hobbs is in road and track cycling action and Archie Crowley of Redbridge competes in hockey.
Hackney's Theia Gaynor competes in cycling, with Clapton's Thomas Millar, and Haringey's Bianca Gomez Velasco takes on the Modern Pentathlon.
The School Games National Finals is one of the many initiatives led by children’s charity, the Youth Sport Trust, to create a future where every child enjoys the life-changing benefits of play and sport. The four-day event is a key part in supporting young people in developing a sense of belonging and to become future changemakers.
The opportunities outside of competition include the Athlete Education Programme which sees the charity’s athlete mentors and high-profile athletes, including Paralympic Games gold medallist swimmer Liz Johnson and former Olympic rower Toby Garbett provide innovative workshops aimed at providing young athletes with skills for life.
Focused on improving athlete wellbeing, competitors can also engage with partners such as Loughborough University and UKAD to access its clean sport education programmes, alongside the chance to continue competing post-games to help them embed their learnings.
Following the pandemic, the School Games National Finals will this year welcome back spectators for the first time enabling families, friends and visitors to see the launching pad for future Commonwealth Games stars.
Tickets are available to purchase but if unable to attend, those at home will be able to watch all the action through live streaming the event on the Youth Sport Trust YouTube channel.
Roman Neveykin, Development Manager for Sport at the Youth Sport Trust and event lead for the School Games National Finals, said: “We are delighted to be welcoming back spectators to this year’s School Games National Finals. The addition of family and friends at this year’s event will help further create the atmosphere of a major multi-sport event we want our young athletes to experience.
“This year’s School Games National Finals will once again help develop the young athletes taking part on and off the field of play through high quality competition and valuable education sessions to ensure they gain skills for life to become future changemakers. Following the success of the Commonwealth Games, we are excited to see what the future holds for these young athletes and who we might see compete in Australia in 2026 as a result.”
This year the School Games National Finals 2022 is taking place thanks to National Lottery funding from Sport England as part of the organisation’s Birmingham 2022 legacy investment and is delivered by the Youth Sport Trust. Held at Loughborough University, it provides the young athletes with first class facilities and the experience of being in a sport competition village akin to the Commonwealth Games.
Register for your ticket to one or more events here: www.ticketsource.co.uk/2022Schoolgamesfinals or subscribe to the Youth Sport Trust YouTube channel, so you don’t miss any of the action in September: https://www.youtube.com/user/youthsporttrust.
You can also follow SGNF social media for the latest updates, search @_schoolgames on Twitter or @schoolgames on Instagram.
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