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| Image courtesy Lancaster City Council |
A group of young people will be jetting off to Denmark on next month to take part in an annual festival of sport and culture.
The 2011 International Youth Games will be held in Aalborg from 2 – 7 August and will see a group of over 50 young people aged between 13 and 15 representing their clubs, schools, town and country at the games.
Representatives from most of the local high schools will be competing in a mix of sports and the arts including athletics, badminton, golf, swimming, table tennis, tennis, music and dance. There are also young people from local special schools taking part for the first time in a multi sport event.
Among the athletes are eleven students from Ripley St. Thomas and the Lancaster Royal Grammar School Boat Club, who reintroduced a rowing element to the games by competing last year.
They will be competing against youngsters of a similar age from Lancaster’s twin and friendship towns Almere (Holland), Vaxjo (Sweden), Rendsburg (Germany) and Aalborg (Denmark). In total more than 1,000 young people will be taking part from 30 countries including Russia, USA and China.
Last year, the team representing Lancaster in the International Youth Games returned with a total of 66 medals (33 gold, 18 silver and 15 bronze).
“The International Youth Games have been taking place now for well over 20 years and are an excellent way for our young people to show off their sporting prowess,” says Coun Ron Sands, cabinet member with responsibility for children and young people. “They are also a great way for them to meet new people and learn about different cultures.”
Lancaster’s involvement in the International Youth Games is organised by Lancaster City Council with valuable support from local sports clubs and community organisations including the volunteer leaders, without whom the opportunity to take part would not exist.
• Daily updates will be posted on the council’s website during the games including photos from the events so if you’re interested in knowing how the team is getting on visit www.lancaster.gov.uk/youthgames