WITH just 100 days to go until the opening of the London Olympics, Flintshire held its own youth sporting extravaganza.
Thousands of children braved rain and cold to take part in the sixth and biggest Festival of Youth Sport yet.
Sports including badminton, basketball, netball, golf, girls’ football, athletics, water polo, handball, gymnastics and cricket were held across the county.
Sports Flintshire’s Julie Rice-Williams organised the festival and said a record number of children had taken part.
She said: “It has been a fantastic event and the kids have really enjoyed it.
“The rain hasn’t dampened the spirits and it held off for the opening ceremony, which was amazing.
“It has been a record-breaking year in terms of attendance and the number of sports.”
The opening ceremony was held at Deeside College before participants were transported to other locations to take part in their chosen sports.
The festival, supported by Airbus and Sport Wales, is the largest of its kind for schools in Wales and was held yesterday to mark the 100 day countdown to the London games.
Julie said: “The aim is to reach children who do not traditionally take part in these events. That is why we have included sports like cheerleading and street dance.
“This can give them the focus to carry on doing sport.
“We are also looking at setting up club structures, the festival is just the start.”
Special guests included Wales international Rugby League and North Wales Crusaders player, Christian Roots, and GB Basketball squad member Devan Bailey.
The 6ft 2 in ‘guard’ plays professional basketball for the British Basketball League team Mersey Tigers.
The biggest draw during the festival was the street dance event, which saw more than 700 children take part in a host of competitions at Airbus.
Evie Stones, six, of Whitford CP School, near Holywell, took part in the dance event.
She said: “I have really enjoyed learning about the Olympics. It has been a very exciting day.”
In preparation for the festival, schools in Flintshire had received free coaching for the events they entered.
