words Hamish Stuart and Gary Baker
it’s big -
and it’s
coMing
near you
soon
the biggest multi-sport event to hit “It is also a stepping stone because the superstar - it is not until you compete against
Wales for more than fifty years will next level up for Welsh competitors is the the best in Great Britain that you find out how
be coming to cardiff, swansea and Commonwealth Games.” good you actually are.
newport at the end of the summer.
Thanks to the facilities available in Newport, “Competing at that higher level makes you
With 10 sports and more than 1500 track cycling has been added to the existing realise that there are people out there who
competitors, the UK Schools Games for elite programme of athletics, badminton, fencing, are as talented as you, so you are going to have
athletes of school age will have a massive gymnastics, hockey, judo, swimming, table to be able to work harder, be disciplined and
impact on Welsh sport looking forward to the tennis and volleyball, bringing the total to ten sacrifice things.
2014 Commonwealth Games and hopefully the sports.
2016 Olympics and Paralympics. “If you do not learn those lessons early then
The integrated programme of disability talent soon runs out. That is one of the
In case you need any persuading of how events in athletics, swimming and table tennis reasons we tend to lose a lot of top sports
important this could be in boosting Welsh increases the athletes competing in 2009 to people, because when they reach a level where
sporting ambitions, then Olympic gold over 1500. they start losing then they do not know how
medallist Darren campbell was on hand at the to handle it.
launch of the uK schools games in cardiff “the next level up is the
Castle. “I say to many young people that you need to
commonwealth games.” learn how to win and lose, if you do both then
“Wales need to be ahead of the game in terms you can go on to achieve your dreams.
of facilities and high-performance thinking campbell points to the equivalent event in his
to continue to bring through top talent - and day for inspiring him to an athletics career that “The game does not change if you are
Cardiff, Newport and Swansea hosting this took him round the world at the highest level. competing in front of 10 people or 90,000.
event shows the facilities and ambition are He won silver in the Sydney Olympics, where I sprinting you have still got to go from the
there,” said 4x100m relay gold medallist and gold went to Greek sprinter Kostas Kenteris start to the finish, in judo you still have to go
200m silver medallist Campbell. who was later suspended for evading a drugs through the disciplines – young people have to
test. learn that the sport you know and love does
“The Welsh youngsters competing will get the not change no matter how many people are
biggest support and this is an opportunity for “I think the moment that set me on the road watching.
them to handle that. was going to the English Schools for the first
time, a big event where there are thousands of “I moved to Wales when I was 19, my kids are
“There are so many elements of sport which people competing in front of a big crowd,” said Welsh, my wife is Welsh and the people of
make the difference between winning and Campbell.. Wales are very passionate about sport – which
losing - finding that out is what the UK Schools is important for these youngsters. I know the
Games are all about. “It teaches you how to deal with your nerves, welsh people will come out and support these
especially if you have excelled in your local young people who will be the superstars of the
area and are on that road to potentially being a future.”
sportingwales
issue6twothousand&nine
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