Primary school pupils throughout Aberdeen will get the chance to participate and compete in a city-wide Commonwealth Games-themed sporting festival next year.
The Aberdeen Youth Games will involve around 1,500 pupils taking part in a number of projects culminating in a final event which will be held at Aberdeen Sports Village on Friday, May 16, 2014. The six-month project, which is being run by Robert Gordon University’s sport and exercise science team and Sport Aberdeen, was launched at Kaimhill Primary School at Garthdee.
As part of the initiative, more than 30 second-year applied sports and exercise students from RGU will receive training in squash, badminton and athletics coaching and deliver these sports to P4 to P7 pupils across the city as part of their work placements in the new year. Bryan McCann, lecturer in sport and exercise science at RGU, is leading the project and aims to involve all 50 primary schools in the city.
He said: “The Aberdeen Youth Games is an exciting initiative which we hope will inspire a generation of young people to become more active, more often.
“The project will provide four weeks of sports coaching and global citizenship, culminating in a day of activities.”
Each school which signs up to participate in the project will also be assigned a Commonwealth country with the aim of linking them to a partner school in that country.
At the festival pupils will represent their country and compete in badminton, squash and athletics and have the opportunity to receive tasters in seven additional sports such as judo, table tennis and rugby.
Demonstrations of swimming, diving and cycling will also be given on the day.
Two RGU events management students have been recruited to plan the event at Aberdeen Sports Village and offer logistical support.
A large number of student volunteers from the university will also be involved and Gray’s School of Art graduate in residence Steven Bremner, 25, has designed a logo for the initiative.