2014 has been a fantastic year for sport in Scotland. From hosting the Ryder Cup to fantastic performances from the national football team against the World Cup champions – what better time to capture the attention of the younger generation and engage them in sport?
Undoubtedly the most popular talking point in Scottish sport has been Glasgow having the privilege of hosting the Commonwealth Games this summer, and following this tremendous event, The Spartans Community Football Academy was keen to offer the young people of North Edinburgh the opportunity to try their hands at some Commonwealth sports.
With the support of Big Lottery Funding, we hosted our very own North Edinburgh Commonwealth Games Day last Tuesday (23 September). Our aim was simple – let young people experience Commonwealth sports they may never have had the opportunity to try before. We invited primary 7 pupils from five local primary schools to join us at The Spartans Community Football Academy – that’s over 200 young people! Thank you Pirniehall PS, Blackhall PS, Forthview PS, Granton PS and St Davids PS for making the day such a special occasion!
Local clubs and organizations were quick to offer help with our event allowing us to offer a great variety of sports. On the day, pupils got to try their hand at Hurdles, Long Jump, Javelin, Triathlon, Boxing, Judo, 100m and 400m relay.
There was great energy around the event and this stemmed from the coaches and volunteers we had on board for the day. We would like to thank coaches and volunteers from Kabo Boxing, Edinburgh Leisure and Jidel Judo for coming along and making the event such a success.
We were extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to offer a Triathlon station to the young people – this wouldn’t have been possible without the help and resources from Ainslie Park Leisure Centre and MyAdventure who offered us use of their swimming pool and bicycles.
We would also like to extend thanks to staff from the Nike store in Craigleith for all their help and support with this project. We would like to extend a final thank you to Big Lottery Funding for believing in our project – without their support this fantastic event would not have been possible.
Pictured above are pupils from St Davids PS and Granton PS who spent the afternoon at our Commonwealth Games.
Jamie Tomkinson (Youth & Community Worker)
The Spartans Community Football Academy
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