In the last two weeks I was pleased to visit the Northamptonshire School Games.
The Northamptonshire School Games is an initiative by Northamptonshire Sport to involve lots of school children in competitive sports, bringing together over 1,200 local children from across the county. There was especially good representation from schools in Northampton North, including Malcolm Arnold Academy and Thomas Becket.
It is important that children and teenagers get the opportunity to engage in competitive sports. Besides the fact that many children really enjoy these opportunities for teamwork, confidence building, co-operation and self-development, playing active sports has many health and well-being benefits too.
Many medical professionals are concerned about the health impacts of childhood obesity. It is well known to them that habits, such as taking exercise, if formed in childhood, are much more likely to stick with people for the rest of their lives. Regular exercise improves so many aspects of people’s physical and mental health, and is boosted even further by the camaraderie and co-operation of team sports. It is clear that the children and teenagers involved found the day both rewarding and fun.
I was able to catch the children’s futsal events, as well as the indoor rowing competition!
I was so proud to see the effort these young people were putting into the day, and particularly pleased to see successes for schools from Northampton North.