Olympic hopeful helps Young Leaders prepare for Cornwall's biggest ever school sport

#Taking place on Friday June 22  in Newquay, the official Olympic-inspired 2012 Cornwall School Games will see over 3,000 of the best young athletes from every
Cornish secondary and primary school compete in what will be the county's biggest ever school sport competition.
 
Over 50% of the workforce at the event will be young people and on Friday May 11 over 120 budding leaders from schools across the county attended the Cornwall School Games Leadership Conference at Newquay Treviglas School's Sports Hub, where they received dedicated training to prepare them for their role on the day. 

Being briefed in the morning on what the event will entail, the young leaders then spent the afternoon in break-out training sessions with leading experts, for the
various areas that they'll be involved in; which include event management, officiating and media coordination.

A major highlight for the students was hearing inspirational speeches by Team GB judo Olympic hopeful Tom Reed, and Will Bohenna, National Faculty Tutor for the
Youth Sport Trust. Tom also treated the students to a colourful demonstration and showed inspiring footage of his competitive judo career whilst Will also facilitated
the event management training session.

 Tim Marrion from the Cornwall Sports Partnership, which is leading on the management of the Cornwall School Games, explains: "We have brought all these students together today so that they can learn more about their involvement in this incredible event that's happening in just over a month's time. 

"We have brought in some very talented coaches and facilitators to provide top-class training for the students so that they can lead the way and literally hit the ground
running in managing what promises to be an unforgettable day".

 Team GB judo Olympian, Tom Reed, comments: "I want to help make the students I meet enthusiastic and passionate about sport and encourage them to perhaps try more unusual sports such as judo that are not on the school curriculum.  I hope my own story of transforming from a child who wasn't interested in sport into a member of
Team GB will resonate with the students I meet and help them understand that they can achieve anything they set their minds to."

 The countywide sports tournament was piloted last year and saw over 1,000 students from 32 schools compete in a number of sporting events. A number of celebrity sports players attended the day to show their support for our budding athletes, including Olympic weightlifter Michaela Breeze, Olympic hopeful sailing duo John Pink and Rick Peacock, and international rugby stars Thinus Delport and Chris Horsman.
 
The 2012 Cornwall School Games is all set to build on the success of last year's event and will encourage a countywide celebration of sport for our talented young
sports stars. It will also continue the excitement established by the arrival of the Olympic torch relay just one month earlier.
 

To find out more about the event, please visit www.cornwallsportspartnership.co.uk .

Photos from the 2012 School Games Leadership Conference and from last year's event can also be viewed on the Cornwall School Games Facebook page.