March 18, 2019

Almost 700 children and young people from across Cumbria will be descending upon Penrith Leisure Centre to compete in the 2019 Cumbria School Games.

Children from schools from across the county will represent their districts and compete at the Spring Finals on the 27^th and 28^th March. Primary and Secondary school teams representing their districts have qualified through intra and inter school competitions organised by district School Games Organisers.

The Spring events will start on Wednesday 27th March with 192 pupils taking part in a brand new Sportshall Athletics Festival for Secondary Schools, followed by a further 144 pupils competing in the Primary Schools Sports Hall Athletics Finals in the afternoon. The Sportshall athletics programme is renowned for its exhilarating, fast paced, energetic competitions with athletes taking part in a wide variety of track and field events, with relays bringing the competition to an exciting finale.

Thursday 28th March will see 252 primary school children competing in the Cumbria Key Steps Gymnastics Finals organised by the Cumbria Schools Gymnastics Association. This is a beginner event for budding gymnasts designed to give school pupils a taste for competitive gymnastics.

In addition to the competitors, around 75 young people from across Cumbria have been trained in various roles to lead and officiate at the events.

The events are organised by the Cumbria School Games Local Organising Committee, supported by ourselves and delivered in partnership with School Games Organisers, schools, clubs, national governing bodies of sport and local partners.

To coincide with the Spring Finals, the Organising Committee is looking for budding artists to design the flags for the summer finale in a competition to encourage participation in Cumbria School Games through other means. The competition is open to any child in education in Cumbria in Key stage 1 – 3 with a focus on the School Games values.  Each district has been allocated one of the school games values.

• Determination - Furness
• Honesty - Allerdale
• Passion - Eden
• Respect - Copeland
• Self-belief - Carlisle
• Teamwork – South Lakes

These values were developed by young people to recognise how the experience of sport should be epitomised and embodied within schools, and to reflect the 'spirit' of the School Games. The winner will be invited to a VIP experience as a flag bearer at the summer finals to be held in Carlisle in July. Entry Form & Details Here

Support for this year’s events has come from Cumberland Building Society. Becky Towns, community co-ordinator at The Cumberland, said: “Every year we support lots of activities that provide opportunities for children that will benefit their physical, mental and social wellbeing. We’re proud to be supporting the games, and delighted to be able to work with the team from Active Cumbria again. Their commitment to developing services which address inactivity in a positive and engaging way is inspiring and, importantly, delivers great improvements to health and wellbeing for people within our local communities.”