No direct route to ‘Schools Olympics’’
Schools’ Olympics
IT SEEMS very unlikely there will be any direct route for Guernsey’s top sports stars to the ‘Schools Olympics’ launched this week.
Jeremy Osborne, one of the best 100 freestylers of his age in the country, takes to the water at the Commonwealth Games. (Picture by Peter Frankland, 0290361)
The new UK School Games, to give its official title, has been introduced to prepare Britain’s best youngsters ahead of the 2012 London Olympics, but while Guernsey sports are enthusiastic about the new government-backed venture which will be heralded by a four-day event, they are largely in the dark.
Athletics, swimming, table tennis, fencing and gymnastics will be the initial five sports involved and it would be reasonable to assume that Guernsey have several boys and girls with the ability to compete at such a level.
The sports just wish they knew more.
Graham Chester, the island’s sports development manager, is still awaiting answers from the Youth Sports Trust, responsible for the ‘Schools Olympics’ organisation. ‘It’s disappointing that the right arm doesn’t seem to know what the left arm is doing,’ said Chester.
Brian Allen, local swimming’s representative for English Schools, has also drawn a blank so far in his attempts to find out more information.
‘We have been in touch with British Swimming who know nothing about it. At the moment everybody seems to be waiting for information,’ he added.
At local level, at least four of the five sports have a direct path to national schools championships, but from what little is known, that will not be the case for this.
GIAAC president Rob Batiste said he was excited about the concept and did not wish to see any of the local track talent left behind.
‘In recent times Kylie Robilliard has won two English Schools titles, which shows we can produce athletes of that calibre.
‘But how any future Kylies or Dales can compete on this particular stage, as yet we don’t know. There has been no consultation with UK Athletics at all, it seems.
‘When I contacted UK Athletics’ development department yesterday, they said they had heard nothing about it at all.
‘Later they came back to me and said that it could be run on a city basis and that Guernsey may well be under the banner of Oxford.’
Derek Webb, president of the GTTA, said his sport had been pushed, in vain, for direct representation at the new event by John Arnold, head of secondary schools table tennis in the UK.
‘He told me he did as much as he could to convince them Guern-sey should be one of the regional teams. After all we are one of the six nations at British schools level. But they said no.’
Published 1/4/2006