1000 youngsters in bound for the BAA Aberdeen airport youth games
Friday 31 May 2002
More than 1000 young sports enthusiasts from the North of Scotland will participate in the 2002 BAA Aberdeen Airport Youth Games, to be held in Aberdeen on Saturday 8 June.
"...the Youth Games gives us the ideal opportunity to encourage youngsters to take part in sport, find out about themselves by meeting new challenges and to help form new friendships."
The Games, sponsored by BAA Scottish Airports, provide a unique opportunity for a large number of youngsters with a broad range of abilities to experience the thrill of participating in a major sporting event. The Games aim to promote the benefits of sport and physical exercise, and emphasise participation as much as winning.
The Aberdeen games are co-ordinated by Aberdeen City Council on behalf of sportscotland and BAA Scottish Airports. This year the event will spread across eight venues and cover 11 sports, including those for people with a disability. In continuing with the Commonwealth theme, there will be Opening and Closing ceremonies and Steph Forrester, world class triathlete from the Scottish Commonwealth Games Team will be supporting the youngsters and signing autographs.
BAA Youth Games have already taken place in Edinburgh and Glasgow's will be held on 21 June. In all, more than 5000 young people will participate in Youth Games throughout Scotland during 2002, representing 28 of Scotland's 32 local authorities.
Alastair Dempster, sportscotland Chairman, said: "The Games unique philosophy of placing as much emphasis on participation as winning, reinforces all the positive aspects of being physically active and supports us in our drive to make more people, more active, more often. BAA Scottish Airports' support, and our partnership with Scotland's local authorities, has made it possible to create an event that adds a new dimension to the range of sporting opportunities available to young people throughout Scotland."
Norton Bertram-Smith, managing director of Aberdeen Airport, said: "Our business is about bringing people closer to one another and sponsorship of the Youth Games gives us the ideal opportunity to encourage youngsters to take part in sport, find out about themselves by meeting new challenges and to help form new friendships."
Lord Provost of the City of Aberdeen, Margaret Smith said: "I am delighted once again that the City is playing host to this event. The bringing together of young athletes from the North of Scotland to promote a healthy lifestyle and social interaction through sport is a valuable experience in today's society. This year I am pleased to say that for the first time, we are joined by participants form the Orkney Islands."
- Venues for the BAA Aberdeen Airport Youth Games will be: Chris Anderson Stadium, Beach Leisure Centre, Keith Park, Northfield Pool, St Machar Academy, Westburn Tennis Centre, Jesmond Sports Centre, Hazlehead 9 Hole Golf Course
- Local Authorities participating in the BAA Aberdeen Airport Youth Games are: Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Dundee, Highland, Orkney, Perth and Kinross
- Sports included in the BAA Aberdeen Airport Youth Games are: Athletics (able bodied & mild learning difficulties), Badminton, Football (Girls and Boys, Boys with minor learning difficulties), Golf, Hockey, Netball, Swimming (special needs), Table Tennis and Tennis
- BAA Scottish Airports Ltd own and operate Aberdeen Airport, Edinburgh Airport Glasgow Airport.
- sportscotland is the national agency for the development of sport in Scotland.