A spectacle of dance, music and colour, inspired by the Olympic Games was showcased at the opening ceremony of the Argyll and Bute Youth Games in Oban on Thursday 14th June.
A record 598 of our first and second year pupils from Argyll and Bute’s secondary schools staged their own version of the Olympics to welcome in Bank of Scotland National School Sport Week.
A specially composed mass fusion Olympic themed dance was performed at Mossfield Stadium by all of the pupils participating in the games. This was a great cross curricular project developed as a partnership between RSCDS and Argyll and Bute Council Education Service/Active Schools.
Devised by Sue Porter of the Royal Scottish Country Dancing Society, the Olympic Reel had many freestyle elements as well as core Scottish country dance principles. The music was also specially composed by David Cunningham, the RSCDS music and New Media Development Officer and performed on the day by young talented musicians from Tarbert, Lochgilphead, Oban and Fife with the support of Susan Rhodes and Hazel Clark.
Flags were flying all around the stadium, designed by the schools and it was a fitting start to an active day of sport. The pupils were also sporting their Olympic themed school t-shirts, kindly provided by the event’s principal sponsor Purple Rock.
Pupils then enjoyed taking part in a range of sports; athletics, badminton, basketball, football, hockey, rugby, tennis, golf, shinty, softball and dance.
The Youth Games is an annual event that is designed to inspire our young people and encourage lifelong participation in sport. This year’s event really was extra special in celebration of the Olympic year.
We’re grateful to a range of partners for helping the council put this year’s event together.