Successful Parallel Youth Games Held In Crawley

The 13th annual Parallel Youth Games which took place at K2 Crawley proved to be a huge success once more. The event, organised by Active Sussex with support from Freedom Leisure and Crawley Borough Council, saw more than 400 local children trying out a wide range of sports from street football to golf.

The Parallel Youth Games is the only event of its size for disabled children in Sussex and it provides a non-competitive mini-Paralympics experience for children to try out sports and learn new skills such as teamwork and leadership. It featured Paralympic star Katie-George Dunlevy who introduced the day.

More than 70 young leaders aged 13 – 18 helped on the day, assisting with the running of sports, coordinating dance routines and providing logistical support. All young leaders are given disability awareness training and some plan to go on to study PE and to use these skills directly in the future.

Cllr Chris Mullins, of Crawley Borough Council, said: “Having a sports star like Katie-George Dunlevy to introduce the event is a great example to the young people and shows them that the sky’s the limit!”

Active Sussex chief executive, Sadie Mason MBE, says: “The Parallel Youth Games is a fantastic day for competitors, young leaders and coordinators alike as it uses the power of sport
to bring people together.”