Primary school children from across Birmingham took part in Aston Olympians 2009 – a festival of sporting activities held at the University earlier this month.
240 pupils aged nine to ten years from seven Birmingham schools - Prince Albert, Mansfield Green, Aston Towers, Manor Park, Yew Tree, Sacred Heart and Burchfield Community - took part in a ‘mini-Olympics’ to encourage team skills and sporting participation.
Organised and ran by the Aston sports team, the purpose of the event was to inspire children to take part in sports and offer facilities not easily accessible to them.
Over 50 staff and students volunteered to help for the two day event to assist with the sporting activities which included waterpolo, team skills, football, gym challenge and bench ball. The events were held in the Woodcock and Gem sports halls.
The day finished with an awards ceremony presented by Professor Helen Higson.
The pupils thoroughly enjoyed the event and showed great enthusiasm for all the activities - their only concern was when the next Aston Olympians was so they could do it again!
Staff volunteer Lindsay Batt said; ‘I really enjoyed the day and was glad to be a part of it. Well done to Sports Aston for organising and delivering such an enjoyable event. I’m already looking forward to next year.’
Simon Foster on behalf of the Aston Sports team would like to thank all staff and student volunteers for helping with the event, he said, ‘We really couldn’t put on such events without your help and I cannot give you enough credit for giving your time!’
The event was sponsored by Aston Pride, the Titan Partnership and the University’s Catering department.
Words by Eleanor Drew
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