Other Sport / Bristol
More than 900 youngsters take part in alternative sports day
More than 900 pupils from across Bristol took part in an action-packed alternative sports day.
Bristol Festival of School Sport aims to encourage young people to get active through a variety of interesting sports and help youngsters rethink their attitude to sport.
Since its launch in 2008, almost 10,000 pupils from 21 Bristol secondary schools have participated in the alternative sports day which was once again hosted for pupils aged 11-13 at Coombe Dingle Sports Complex on Tuesday.
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This year’s event was run by more than 100 University of Bristol students. The volunteers varied from keen gym-goers, to elite-level athletes from the university’s performance sport programme.
Event organiser Trinity Handley, said: “University of Bristol students have a fantastic opportunity to act as role models in helping these youngsters rethink their attitudes to sport, while also giving them a positive introduction to higher education during the process”.
The youngsters participated in 14 various activities throughout the day, ranging from lacrosse to orienteering.
The action didn’t stop for lunch either – there were demonstrations from the University of Bristol Judo Squad and the Bristol Jets Cheerleading Squad. The end of the day saw a closing ceremony celebrating everyone involved.
The event aimed to spark pupils’ interest in sports that they may not have previously considered trying and encourage an active lifestyle.
“The festival aims to inspire the pupils with a variety of dynamic sports,” said sport development officer Robbie Fox.
“Recent University of Bristol studies have showed that children do less exercise as they get older and research from Sport England shows that there’s a drop in participation among secondary school students. This is a chance to change that.”
Read more: Be a sport – Bristol’s festival with a difference
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