Children compete at the Aldi Community Games National Festival
September 21, 2017
Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council is delighted to congratulate 35 talented children from Old Warren, Lisburn, as they competed at 2017 Aldi Community Games National Festival in Dublin.
The children attended the Sport and Cultural Festival as part of a pilot project between Lisburn and Castlereagh’s Every Body Active 2020 programme and the Resurgam Youth Initiative, which aims to engage and inspire young people in sport and physical activity.
In preparation for the event, boys aged 8 to 13 years and girls aged 13 to 16 years took part in a 12 week training programme. The boys trained extremely hard in the run up to the event, brushing up on their silky football skills, while the girls undertook intense dance sessions with the Naomi Orr School of Dance.
The children headed off to Dublin at the end of August to join approximately 4,000 children from across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The boys competed in the indoor football event, bowing out to the eventual runners up, while the girls danced against a high level of competition and were commended for their performance. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the experience and hope to return next year.
Speaking about their achievement, Chairman of the Council’s Leisure & Community Development Committee, Alderman James Tinsley, said: “I would like to firstly congratulate all the boys and girls that participated in the 2017 Aldi Community Games National Festival. To compete at such a high profile event is a fantastic achievement and everyone should be very proud.
“I was particularly impressed by the level of commitment that the children demonstrated in the run up to the event. They put their heart and soul into each training session and brought a great deal of enthusiasm to the event itself.
“It is events like this one that help children gain confidence and belief that they can achieve anything they set out to do. The Community Games organisation is child-centred and focuses on participation rather than winning, which the Council fully endorses.
“We continue to recognise the importance of giving children the opportunity to participate in sport and cultural activities, regardless of ability, to enable growth and development in a positive and healthy way.
“Finally, I would like to commend coaches from the Council’s Every Body Active 2020 programme and the Resurgam Youth Initiative for all their hard work in making this a memorable experience for all involved,” concluded Alderman Tinsley.
The Community Games is one of the biggest All Ireland National Governing Bodies which annually hosts the Aldi Community Games, and aims to encourage and introduce a love of sport and culture.