England Team for UK School Games Announced

24 young players have been selected to compete in the England team for the 2009 UK School Games and will start competing on Friday 4th September.

This year’s UK School Games will take place from the 3rd – 6th September in Cardiff, Swansea and Newport.  The judo tournament will take place at the Sports Hall at the University of Swansea.

Tom Williams and Sophie Daniels have been chosen as team captains. 17-year-old Williams from Hornchurch in Essex competed in the 2008 UK School Games and won silver in the U81 kg weight category. The Ford Judo Club player continues to fulfil a career in judo and is training full time at Camberley Judo Club.

Sophie Daniels makes her 2009 debut after being out of action for most of the year due to a knee injury. The 18-year-old from Newport, Essex has worked hard to get back on form and will compete in her first major tournament of the year.

The judoka selected are England’s elite young athletes aged between 15 years and 18 years and will compete against judo delegations from Scotland, Wales and the Northern Ireland.

Amongst the 28 selected is the defending champion Megan Henderson who returns in the U48kg weight category. Lewis Keeble, Sophie Daniels, Tom Williams and Jessica Mair are competing once again this year after winning silver medals in the 2008 UK School Games.

Trevor Sitlinton, Team Manager for the English Judo Team said, “The team are in good shape at the moment and excited about the Games. They all came together for the first time at the Kendal training camp at the beginning of August, which allowed us to finalise team preparations before the event.

“We have won the cup for the last two years and aspire to win again this year. It is very much a team event and will be interesting as the team is made up from a mixture of cadets and juniors, which gives everyone the opportunity to show off their skills and develop at that level”.

The UK School Games gives young people from all over the UK the chance to compete in a major multi-sport event like as the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games or the Commonwealth Games. Competitors experience an Opening and Closing ceremony, medals and accommodation in a Games village.

“For most of the team, this will be their first multi-sport event and will give them the chance to gain good experience and mix as teams,” Sitlinton continued.

The Youth Sport Trust are responsible for staging the Games, which includes Judo, Table Tennis , Athletics, Gymnastics, Hockey, Badminton, Swimming, Fencing, Volleyball and new to this year Track Cycling.

The first ever UK School Games was hosted in 2006 by Glasgow followed by Coventry in 2007 and Bath in 2008. The Youth Sport Trust secured £2.3 million National Lottery funding from the Big Lottery fund to support the Games until 2011.

UK School Games England Judo Team

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Media Contact:

Nicola Turner

British Judo Association

(t) 01509 631695

nicolaturner@britishjudo.org.uk