Leicester Tigers are giving their backing to the first School Games Virtual Summer Championship.
While school sports days have been cancelled, after-school sports clubs put on hold and a summer of professional sport has been postponed, Leicester-Shire and Rutland Sport don’t want to let this be a summer of forgotten sport for young people.
Therefore they are hosting a first School Games Virtual Summer Championships and you can get involved too.
This virtual event will give more young people the opportunity to participate and represent their school in an interactive county-wide competition, as the challenges will be open to all and accessible whether they are taking part individually at home or are now back in a school environment.
This first Leicester-Shire and Rutland School Games Virtual Summer Championships is being supported by professional clubs including the Tigers and sports personalities from across our county and beyond.
Starting on Monday (June 22) – the beginning of National School Sport Week – and running throughout the week, young people will be able to take part in LRS challenges and upload their scores. There will be an opening ceremony, interactive Daily Boost warm-up and regular coverage via LRS social media platforms as well as results and awards individuals, schools & SSPANs.
Scott Clarke, head of community and global partnerships Leicester Tigers, says: “It’s been a tough spring and summer for all sporting activity and we have had to cancel many festivals and events that were planned to get the Leicester and Leicestershire young people enjoying fun and physically active games.
“It’s great to see the continued work of our partners at Leicestershire and Rutland Sport in keeping opportunity, competition and participation in sport at the forefront of our daily routine and we are delighted to support the School Games Virtual Summer Championships. Good luck to all who take part and compete.”
Gavin Walker, a wheelchair rugby player with Tigers and Team GB, commented: “This is such a great initiative and a valuable experience for children. The more we can do to create environments for children to be active and enjoy different activities the better.
“Focusing on the great enjoyment physical exercise can bring will encourage children to continue this active lifestyle into later life, increasing both their physical and mental strength.”
LRS sports development officer Liam Drake, who runs the county-wide school sport offer, added: “The last few weeks and months have been a really challenging time for everyone and with very few children being in school and not really allowed to play sport, we have had to think completely differently about how we deliver our County School Sport competitions.
“This has meant looking at more individual and personal-best type challenges and activities that can be completed with social distancing in mind.
“The School Games Summer Championships is a huge flagship event for us each year and there was no way we wanted to just let the date pass by without giving young people the opportunity to represent their school and district. For some of them, it might be the last opportunity they get before they move on to a new school.
“The week of our event is the annual National School Sport Week, so it was imperative that we gave schools and young people something to look forward to with the opportunity to take part and compete prior to the end of the academic year.”
Further information:
How to take part: Simply choose ONE of the HiFIVE challenges from the resource for each of the 4 sports categories*, record and submit your score on our website upload your photos and videos to social media.
*There are also adapted challenges available for those participants who require it.
For more information visit the LRS website by clicking here.
