This week saw the launch of the Kent School Games at the University of Kent and they are going to be big in this Olympic year.

There will be in excess of 30,000 young people between the ages of four and fifteen years old taking part from over 500 schools, with 7,000 reaching the Finals.

Overall, there will be 87 finals events in 36 sports held between February 2nd and the end of June at 15 venues throughout the county.

This year, the games have been dovetailed to fit neatly with the national School Games and expanded to include Medway

Schools and also independant schools in the primary and “badged” events and in selected secondary events. There will definitely be an Olympics and Paralympics flavour to the Finals and more artisitic elements than ever before.

The purpose of the launch, held at the Sports Centre at the University of Kent in Canterbury, was to showcase the talent that Kent has, to demonstrate kids participating in the School games with the futsal finals taking place and to give the chance to some kids from Kent to speak with Olympics idols such as hockey player Mel Clewlow.

Being an Olympic year, and especially being held so close to Kent, with the Paralympic cycling event to be held at Brands Hatch in August, it  is important that the county makes the most of this opportunity to encourage participation in sport and KCC Cabinet member for Culture & Communities, Mike Hill, feels that the County Council has a huge role to play over the next year and for years to come:

“This is the third year that we have run the Kent School Games. We started in 2008, did it again in 2010, but this is the big year. Being an Olympic year, it will be the biggest and best School Games ever. We have got more competitors, more schools taking part and I am delighted that it will be used a model for the national games.”

“It is important that we leave a legacy behind us and make sure that the people of Kent are enthused about the Olympic sporting ideals and the spirit of competitive sport.”

“The County Council has a huge influence in young people’s lives as we run the schools, we run the youth service and we run the sports. It’s the one chance we have to everyone involved together and I hope it has a positive effect on the people of Kent.”

With so many of Kent’s kids getting involved in the School Games, Mike Hill is hoping it will inspire a new generation of Olympians from within the county:

“We are yet to see our first Olympic medal winner coming from the Kent School Games, but I hope we do see that in the future and that someone can say they drew their inspiration from it.”

“It’s also important that we get children off their sofas and taking part in meaningful and healthy activities. Anything we can do to prevent children becoming overweight has got to be a good thing.”

“2012 is all about legacy and we need to make sure we don’t wake up in 2013 with a headache. We need to make sure this year is a seminal moment in the future of the county.”

One youngster hoping to make it to either the 2012 Paralympics is 100 metre and 200 metre runner Joshua Taylor and the fifteen year old explained how he is keen to use this year to springboard his life onto better things:

“It’s my whole life really. I’m hoping to qualify for 2012, but if not, the target will be to make it through to 2016.”

“I train three days a week, about two and half hours a day to get where I am now.”

“Having watched a lot of sport growing up, I have seen the likes of Usain Bolt and Linford Christie and they have inspired me to be the best I can.”

“Hopefully, I will spend the rest of my life being part of sport.”

Participation is certainly the legacy most people want from this year’s Olympics and Paralympics and KCC’s Head of Culture & Sport Group, Chris Hespe, is keen to ensure that happens:

“We have got one real chance to make sure we make a big impact on young people’s lives and the Kent School Games is the first stepping stone in making sure that we have people enthused about sport, not only now, but in the future too.”

“I am as dedicated to making sure that we give equal coverage to Paralympics events and in my mind they should both be labelled together as we want to make sure that everyone throughout Kent has an equal chance, whatever your background.”

2012 is going to be a big year for sport within Kent. Log onto Kent Sports News in the coming days for our exclusive interviews with Olympian Mel Clewlow, Director of Sport at University of Kent, Graham Holmes and football freestyler John Farnworth.