PULSE “In 2013, I was fortunate enough to


represent my district (Dartford and Gravesham) at the Kent School Games Athletics event. Over the


‘’ It looks good, entertaining and fun.’’


What another amazing year for the Kent School Games. The level three County finals were delivered across 20 days, included 35 sporting activities, hosted at 12 venues with 6350 competitors aged 4 – 18 years.


Kent County Council is always striving to improve the games and some of the new developments for this year included:


*Increased number of athlete mentors attending level 3 events. For 2014 the following inspirational athletes were part of it: Danny Crates – Paralympic athlete, Andrew Bridge – Commonwealth Games Basketball Player, Kelsey Gibson – GB rower, Jack Green – Olympic Hurdler, Martyn Bernard – Commonwealth Games Athlete, Rob Richardson – Paralympic Sitting Volleyball Player, Chris Cook – Olympic Swimmer, Dan McMillan - GB Handball Olympian


* Art31 consists of a group of young people aged 14 to 21 and is aimed at creating arts events, programmed, produced and created by young people for young people. Art 31 took over the main stage at the KSG final event on Wednesday 25th June and scheduled a day of performances involving young Kent performers from across the County to include singers,


bands, cheerleaders and dancers who entertained the crowds.


* For the first time, a PR company has been engaged to grow coverage and ensure KSG reaches new audiences. Thanks to the work of WAC PR we have seen more publicity than ever before. Press releases have been issued throughout the year and Kent School Games events have been covered on Meridian TV, KMFM radio, Kent Life, insideKENT and Index Magazine. This has been supported with newspaper and online reports from our media partner the KM. The new addition of a Kent School Games Facebook page and Twitter account has also supported in raising the profile of the Kent School Games.


Events of this scale and success cannot happen without a considerable amount of people and I must thank the School Games Organiser Network, MLS contracts Ltd, Sports Managers, venue providers, my colleagues at Kent Sport and Kent County Council.


I would also like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to all those schools who have continually supported the Kent School Games since it began in 2008 and wish you all an enjoyable and successful 2014/15 School Games season.


Natalie Harris Culture & Sports Events Officer


‘’ Before the match started, we were all


nervous but also very excited because for some of us it’s our first time competing! ‘’


course of the day I was able to compete in the 300m, where I ended the day finishing 3rd in the final and eventually going on


to represent Kent in an inter-counties Athletics meeting later that month. The Kent School Games are a great way of getting kids and


teenagers involved in competitive sport which promotes many key social attributes, such as; fair play, teamwork and respect.


My experience at the Kent School Games has helped me to develop as an athlete and to compete at the highest level within my County, but most


importantly, I was able to meet and socialise with other athletes with whom I share a common interest with. One of the most important things about the Kent School Games and the work of Kent Sport are bringing young athletes and competitors together. Not only does this encourage today’s youth to take part in sport, it also allows young athletes to enjoy sport. Being part of the Kent School Games has enabled me to experience a


competitive environment, and has helped me to achieve greater things within the sport of Athletics”.


Joshua Fernandez


300m Kent School Games bronze medallist


The staff’s point of view


Now that the 2013/2014 Kent School Games season is over, I reflect with joy on the experience I had at the event which gave the opportunity for some 6,000 young people to be part of a sporting event as participants and another 300 as volunteers. There were 22 event days, many of which were multi-sport competitions such as the summer finals on11th and 25th June which included a variety of sports like Mini-Squash, Mini-Tennis, Panathlon, Tag Rugby, Football, Netball, Athletics and Tri-golf.


It has been an intense season that involved a lot of long days (and sometimes nights) of planning, travelling, booking schools, setting up of venues…and of course plenty of spreadsheet work (admittedly, not the most exciting job); nevertheless, it is important to keep track of the information about the competitions we organise and the people involved both as participants and volunteers.


The young people coming to compete may not know that in order for them to take part in these events, there is a big team of people, who often remain


behind the scenes, looking after all the preparation work and the delivery of the Kent School Games. Since the events are county-level competitions, schools must take part at a regional level so that they can qualify. These events are run by the School Games Organisers without which the Kent School Games would not have happened.


Another important group are the people at Kent Sport who manage, co-ordinate and promote the preparation for and the delivery of the Games. They are the ones who liaise with the NGBs and partners, and look after the welfare of those taking part. Also, we should not forget the volunteers, the clubs that get involved, the staff at all the venues, and the National Governing Bodies who all aim to encourage youth participation in sport.


What I have enjoyed the most while being part of the Event Staff at Kent Sport was seeing the children’s enjoyment of participating in a sporting competition. Now it’s time for the 2014/2015 School Games and the first events are Tag Rugby and Table Tennis starting in November. I wish another successful year to everyone competing and to those who make the event happen.


Nikolay Filipov


6 The Kent & Medway School Sports Magazine


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