Inverness kids take the lead in Commonwealth Games festival idea

COMMONWEALTH Games-style events could appear across the Highlands this year -after organisers descended on Inverness to give youngsters tips on staging their own sporting festivals.

Sportscotland, the Youth Sport Trust, and the organisers of the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games launched the “Lead 2014” campaign in Inverness College’s sports hall this week, aiming to prepare pupils to develop and run a sporting festival in their school or community.

UHI students, who had been trained to act as mentors for the pupils, guided them through a day of spoken and practical exercises, designed to teach the basics of leading a Commonwealth-style event.

Inverness Harriers athlete and 2014 hopeful Kathryn Evans kicked off proceedings with a speech about her own experience of leadership and competing at major games.

She then helped run school sports day-style activities with the students and pupils, who arrived from across Inverness and the Highlands and Islands.

John MacNeil, a spokesman for Glasgow 2014, said: “The UHI is taking part in Lead 2014 for the first time, and is the first university in Scotland to host a conference this year.

“The UHI students put on an opening ceremony to give the pupils a flavour of what they can achieve, before talking them through protocol and taking part in some practical examples of school sports day-style events through the day.”

He added the organisers were hopeful of a repeat of the feedback the scheme received last year, when schools across the country took the skills they had learned from the conference and went on to successfully run events in their schools and communities.

He said: “Last year, a high percentage of pupils and students who took part went back and organised events and sports days in their communities.

“We are hoping for a similar response this year, and it is fantastic to see schools from all over the Highlands and Islands taking part in the confference.”

Sprinter Evans, who competed at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, talked to the pupils about her experience of showing leadership and the major championships she has participated in.

Lead 2014 aims to provide the students and pupils with the leadership skills seen in athletes, and encourages them to apply these to community festivals through the year, as part of the build-up to the major event in 2014.