Youth triumph

The two days of competition displayed all that is good in the youth of today. It provided the opportunity for boys and girls of varying standards to compete and know that their own contribution was worthwhile.

Praise should rightfully be given to all those councils and district councils that took part in the competition and in particular the officials who develop and promote sport within their own areas.

As part of the support to the Kennet Athletics squads at U12 and U14 (both of whom achieved great success) praise should be given to staff from Kennet District Council who made such an effort to provide the opportunity for local children to partake in such a fantastic and well organised event.

It was a delight to see over a few short hours on both days how our local squads gelled together, initially as12 or 14 individuals into cohesive teams, each accepting their individual limitations but in turn understanding the need for their own performance.

This was not about individuals performing to the highest level, although it does help, but more about working as a team and understanding that no one individual can succeed without, in this case the contribution of their colleagues.

If the outcome of the day was to promote a team ethic based on fair play then I believe it was truly successful.

The children I was associated with supported each other to the full and appreciated everyone else's effort, and without doubt they thoroughly enjoyed the excitement of the competition.

If as a society we aim to help the youth of today to develop into citizens of the future of whom we are proud, then we must all take the responsibility of supporting in any way we can, events that promote such 'ideals' as these games quite obviously did.

Finally I would like to personally congratulate the children from Kennet who took part in the Athletics and I hope that their success will encourage them to continue to take part in sport at whatever level they ultimately achieve.

Phil Davenport

Burbage