Coronavirus: Search for Sussex school champions goes virtual

Since 2012 the Sussex School Games Summer Festival has been an annual highlight for school sport competition in the county with tens-of-thousands of children competing throughout the year to qualify.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Due to school closures and restrictions surrounding COVID-19, this year’s event has been cancelled, but the organisers are determined to still put school teams to test, with a virtual competition that sees the title of Sussex champions up for grabs.

With social distancing restrictions still currently in place in the UK, there is a continuing need to ensure that people are staying healthy and active while at home. On Monday April 27, a programme of sports challenges will be launched online - the Specsavers ‘Virtual’ Sussex School Games.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Active Sussex, in partnership with the Sussex School Games Organiser network and national governing bodies of sport, are launching the virtual competition as a response to the cancelled programme of school sport this spring and summer. Each week throughout the summer term, children will have the opportunity to represent their school from the comfort and safety of their own homes.

Sussex School Games SUS-200420-123700001Sussex School Games SUS-200420-123700001
Sussex School Games SUS-200420-123700001

A new sport will be announced each Monday, made up of four challenges. Children are encouraged to train and improve, logging their best scores online before midday on Friday, to contribute to their school’s average score. Medals will be awarded to the best primary and secondary schools for each sport and an overall leaderboard will be kept throughout the summer.

It’s not only the children who can represent their school, as an Active Adults leaderboard will also be kept for teachers, parents and carers that would like to give it a go.

The programme is funded by Sport England through National Lottery funding and supported by the Department of Culture Media and Sport, the Department of Health and headline sponsors, Specsavers.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Sadie Mason MBE, Chief Executive of Active Sussex said: “The world is a strange place for everybody at the moment, particularly school children. So we invite schools from every corner of Sussex to get involved, not only for the physical good, but for the mental benefits that representing your school team alongside your peers, albeit virtually, can bring.”

For more information and to sign up for the Specsavers ‘Virtual’ Sussex School Games, visit www.sussexschoolgames.co.uk and follow @SussexSchGames on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

If you are planning on taking part in this please share your pictures with us.

A message from the Editor, Gary Shipton:

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news, I am asking you to please purchase a copy of our newspapers.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspapers.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

Stay safe, and best wishes.