Pupils jump to it at Games
Stirling Sports Village welcomed more than 900 pupils from seven Stirling secondary schools last week as they took part in Active Stirling’s annual Junior Games event.
In the fourth year of the Games, the event had a specific theme which was “celebrating Scottish sport and Scottish sporting icons.”
Organised by Active Stirling and supported by PE teaching staff from each high school plus more than 150 Junior Games Makers – S3 to S6 pupil volunteers – and 17 local sports clubs all taking part, pupils were able to choose from 23 different sports and activities to take part in at one single event.
The Scottish theme this year saw the addition of new sports such as shinty, led by the sport’s most decorated player Ronald Ross MBE, golf, fencing, judo, karate, taekwon do, cycling and tennis along with a specially themed Highland Games activity working in partnership with Stirling Highland Games and ahead of this year’s games on Saturday, August 15 to bring an introduction to sports which traditionally feature in highland games.
The games are a commitment to having a lasting legacy event for sport across Stirling following last year’s Commonwealth Games.
Active Stirling’s chief executive Andrew Bain said: “It’s so rewarding to bring young people together from across the Stirling area and encourage their involvement in such a diverse range of sporting activities in one single event.”
Provost Mike Robbins, who visited the games, added: “The Junior Games is a great way of getting youngsters from all around Stirling involved in the huge variety of sporting activities the PEAK and Active Stirling offers - over 20 different sports. The children all had a really good day and I know Active Stirling has a fantastic holiday programme planned for this year again, so I hope lots of them come back over the summer and have fun getting active.”
Junior Games event organiser and Active Schools co- ordinator Fraser Crawford said: “This year’s games with the Scottish theme brought another new and exciting dimension to the event and it was so rewarding to see so many pupils take part and enjoy themselves. The Junior Games aims to encourage pupils to take sport further into their communities.”
The event was opened by 2014 Commonwealth Games mountain biking athlete Kerry Macphee and after the opening ceremony, Junior Games Makers led each school into their chosen sports as they started their morning activities.
Throughout the day pupils were also entertained with music from pipers from St Modan’s High School and Bannockburn High School, and highland dancers from St Modan’s and Stirling High School.