A wide range of sports took place on the day, and these included highly competitive football and netball tournaments and track and field events on the park’s athletics track.
The football tournament was won by Whitworth Community High School in Rossendale, and the netball competition by Euxton Primrose Hill Primary School. There was also a variety of activities that children enjoyed participating in. These varied from dodgeball to tag rugby, cricket to golf, and orienteering through to samba drumming.
Alongside the physical activities, competition winners were also announced for the Lancashire School Games baton design and opening decree competitions.
William Taylor, age 10, from Brinscall St John Primary School, was the winner of the baton design competition for his Chorley and Lancashire-themed creation. He led the opening parade of all schools around the athletics track.
Then, Emily Short, age 11, of Balderstone St Leonard’s CE Primary School, took to the main stage to read out her decree on playing sport in the right spirit. This was selected as the winner by judges to officially open the 2022 SPAR Lancashire School Games Finale.
A party in the park was held to finish off the day where the winners of the dance finals – Hodgson Academy in Poulton-le-Fylde and Sherwood Primary School in Preston – performed their routines again.
The Lancashire School Games are run by Active Lancashire and The School Games Organiser Network, and they have been sponsored by SPAR for 15 years through SPAR UK’s primary North of England wholesaler and distributor, James Hall & Co. Ltd, based in Preston.
In 2022, the Games has engaged 10,000 children in sport and activities across Lancashire through 20 feature events and competitions, enabling opportunities to have fun, develop skills, and achieve personal bests.
The 2022 Games were also the first to have a baton relay around Lancashire’s 14 districts. Methods for transporting the baton around the Red Rose County included walking, running, by bike, on scooters, on horseback, and by boat with the support of the RNLI.
Niels Dekkers, Retail Development Director at James Hall & Co. Ltd, said: “The Lancashire School Games Finale was the best way to end a superb year of school activity that has been expertly put on by our valued partners at Active Lancashire and the School Games Organiser Network.
“All year, we’ve been following the competitions and baton relay with intrigue and excitement, and the Finale highlighted perfectly why we are happy to put SPAR’s name to the Games as sponsor year after year”, he added.
Source: SPAR UK
The UK became a SPAR member in 1956 when SPAR International granted the SPAR licence to a group of independent wholesalers. As a result, there are now five regional partners in the UK. A central office in London provides national marketing and buying services for the group.
SPAR has led the highly competitive convenience market in the UK for many years. Always innovative, the five regional partners continue to grow the brand. SPAR UK comprises independently owned licensed retailers and company-owned stores. These include forecourts, airports, train stations, city centres, and local neighbourhood stores.
