5:10pm Tuesday 16th March 2010
By Dick Marshall
OLYMPIC 100 metres hurdler Sarah Claxton will be the special guest at an action-packed morning of sportshall athletics at the Southend Leisure and Tennis Centre tomorrow.
Children from 14 primary schools from across Essex will compete in the finals in a series of race and field events.
Colchester’s Claxton will present the awards and be on hand to offer advice and support to the young sportsmen and women.
This event has been organised by the School Sport Partnership network and the Essex Competition Managers Team.
Essex County Council has supported the finals as part of its Carrying the Flame education programme, which will ensure every child and young person in Essex is inspired by the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.
A total of 400 children, aged 10 and 11 years old, will participate in the finals with Chalkwell Hall and Thorpe Bay’s Bournes Green representing Southend.Rayleigh’s Grove Wood Primary, Laindon’s Millhouse Primary and Little Thurrock Primary will also be competing.
It is the culmination of a series of competitive Aviva Sportshall activities.
While this is essentially a sporting event, there’s room for design too. Each school has been working with The Art Factory, an Essex based art centre specialising in art workshops for children and adults, to explore the heritage and culture of a specific country, and create a new Olympic flag for that country. Representatives from each school will open the event with a colourful procession of flags.
Coun Stephen Castle, Essex County Council’s cabinet member for the 2012 Games, said: “With the Olympics and Paralympics just around the corner, we are keen to play our part in helping our communities, particularly our younger communities, stay active, which is why Sportshall Athletics play such a vital role.”
>Don’t miss Echosport’s results and picture coverage of the big day later this week.
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