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Sun, sea, sand and sport BEACH athletics is the sleeping giant of the sport. The soft surface is ideal for youngsters to run, jump and throw on. Britain also has 7760 miles of coastline – far more than France, Italy and Spain – much of it peppered with beautiful beaches. Down in Weymouth, though, beach athletics is beginning to take off and this small ripple could soon become a much bigger wave. Weymouth Beach last year saw ‘beach fit’ sessions, where children took part in fun athletics classes for a small charge. But on July 11 this year Weymouth will see the first-ever Beach Fit Challenge, involving dozens of children from local schools. Organiser Pete Hawkins says the event is “a unique talent identification scheme targeting year- four primary children” and he has attracted the interest of BBC, who are set to film it. Children will use star track equipment, while other companies such as adidas are also showing an interest, supplying their products for the children’s goodie bags. “The Beach Fit coaches will visit every primary school in the borough and give a free, one-hour, basic but expert coaching session in hurdles, javelin, long jump and sprints,” says Hawkins.
“The sessions will culminate in a
measured or He added: “The school champions will be bused to Weymouth beach to compete in the inter-schools Beach Fit Challenge in a specially constructed arena. Here the boy and girl borough champions in javelin, hurdles, sprint and long jump will be found through a series of heats and finals. “The final event of the day will be an obstacle relay competition where each school’s boy and girl team will be made up of its individual event champions. “Through the scheme it is hoped that sporting talent can be identified and directed to elite coaching squads and local athletics clubs.” |
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