Last month, children and young people who took part in the 2024 Specsavers Surrey Youth Games celebrated their participation with their families at an event held at the Surrey Sports Park in Guildford. The Games are the biggest multi-sport youth programme of its kind in the southeast. Over 90 children, aged 7-16, received six to eight weeks of free coaching for a range of sports including judo, swimming, tennis and touch rugby.

The Games aimed to offer children and young people, who may not otherwise have access to a sports club or sports lessons, the chance to learn a new skill. Eight coaches volunteered their time for free to carry out the programme.

Councillor Clive Woodbridge, Chair of the Community and Wellbeing Committee said: “I’m so proud that we’ve been able to play our part in supporting the health and wellbeing of children and young people. We know that being socially active from a younger age supports physical development and mental health, and the Games are a great way to introduce children to a new sport or skill.

The free coaching will hopefully provide participants with the confidence to try new sports and inspire them to be more active. A huge thank you to everybody involved, these activities couldn’t have taken place without their support.”

The Specsavers Surrey Youth Games were coordinated by Active Surrey and sponsored by Specsavers.