MORE than 250 talented swimmers and wheelchair basketball players from across the Tees Valley descended on Darlington for an inter-school competition.
The pupils, aged from nine to 16-years-old, took part in swimming races in the Dolphin Centre pool and wheelchair basketball matches in the sports hall as part of the Tees Valley Sainsbury’s School Games.
Nick Gillingham MBE - a Double Olympic medallist, World and Commonwealth Champion and triple European Champion - took part in the opening ceremony and offered encouragement, advice and support to the children as they competed.
The event marked the first Tees Valley-wide competitions of the 2015 Sainsbury’s School Games season and were the culmination of school and inter-school competitions held in each of the five districts; Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar & Cleveland, Stockton and Darlington.
Throughout the new season, the pupils will represent their district and compete against each other in the “Spirit of the Games”, a set of values that embody the ethos of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The Darlington event was supported by volunteers from Carmel College and a further two events will be taking place during the summer months.
These will see almost 1,300 young people participating as athletes, volunteers and officials and will take place on June 24 and 24 at Middlesbrough Sport Village and Eston Sports Complex.
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