This Saturday, more than 800 pupils from Year 5 and 6 across Bailiwick schools will take part in 23 different sporting competitions as part of the 11th annual Specsavers Youth Games.
Aimed at giving pupils the chance to try a new sport and make new friends, it’s also an opportunity to compete on behalf of their allocated teams rather than their schools.
With final preparations underway for ‘Games Day’ at Footes Lane, the Guernsey Sports Commission have called it the “grand finale”.
“The children have been training really hard over the past couple of months to learn the rules and tactics of their new sports and get ready for the final fun competition on Games Day,” said Nicky Will from the Commission, who has been coordinating the Games.
“It’s fantastic to have so many different sports involved this year, and the children really have been spoilt for choice. New this year is Archery and we’ve seen the return of Fencing again plus most of the sports who took part two years ago. It’s been a challenge to manage the overwhelming demand and all sports taking part in the Games are pretty much at capacity,” she said.
“We are also delighted to welcome children from St Anne’s School in Alderney again who will be taking part in the Youth Games for the second time this year.”
The event is jointly hosted by the Guernsey Sports Commission and Specsavers and in honour of the 2025 Island Games, the pupils will compete for one of six teams named after some of the animals and birds that live on or around Orkney.
Specsavers co-founder, Dame Mary Perkins said: “Specsavers is proud to continue our support with the Youth Games and be part of such a wonderful event for the children of Guernsey. The camaraderie, friendly competition and high spirits of all involved is always such a joy to witness, it’s one of the highlights in my calendar when it comes back around.”
Games Day will culminate in a special closing ceremony at Footes Lane when the overall winning team is announced and the Fair Play Trophy awarded to the team who wins the most nominations from the individual sports.
Ms Will added: “We couldn’t do this without the amazing support from our member sports and their coaches and volunteers who go out of their way to make sure the children have a great time as well as learning new skills.
“But really the event only happens because of the continued support from our fantastic sponsors Specsavers. Not only do they give us amazing financial support, but their staff help out with all the organising and logistics before the event itself and volunteer on Games Day to be part of the team making sure the children are safe and entertained ahead of the Closing Ceremony.”