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>> STARTER: On your marks!
[whistle]
[water splashing]
>> JEREMY HUNT: This is a very big moment because one of the big - in fact probably
the single biggest sports project that I have worked on since taking office last year has
been to set up the School Games, which is a sports legacy programme to make sure that
the incredible excitement that we have next year touches as many schools in the country
as possible. So far we've got a third of the schools in the country - that's nearly 8,000
schools - signed up for the School Games and what we're announcing today is that the venues
for the inaugural finals of the School Games will be here in the Olympic Park so you'll
be able to swim in the Aquatics Centre before Rebecca Adlington if you're one of the finalists,
you'll be able to cycle in the Velodrome before Chris Hoy if you're a cycling finalist and
indeed if you're a runner, you might even be able to run on the 100m track before Usain
Bolt. So that's a big incentive to schools and we want to just fire everyone up and say
this is a big moment, an exiting moment, and for us as policy makers the test is are we
creating a structure that's going to last beyond 2012 when LOCOG disappears, the ODA
are no longer, the country moves on, will those structures that get more young people
playing sport still be in place? And that's really what the School Games is about.
>> MARK FOSTER: It's awesome. It's absolutely fantastic. I think the fact that, I mean,
the pool itself feels amazing. And I know a lot of people that aren't swimmers will
go: "Well, what does that mean?" but because of the depth of the pool, the width of the
pool and just the atmosphere in here, you sort of, dive in there and you honestly, literally
feel like you're sliding through the water. It's just, I don't know, I can't, sort of,
describe it and I mean, I suppose because it is so new and the fact that the Olympics
is going to be here in a year's time and having all the other kids next to you. You could
see how excited they were and I think that's the thing. The whole thing about the Games,
and the legacy - the legacy is about trying to inspire kids to get involved in sport.
My thing is getting kids in the pool but whether it be athletics, swimming, cycling - getting
the social benefits of sport and the health benefits of sport.
>> MIKE DIAPER: I think what's exciting about this is that every single child up and down
the country can have the chance to take part in competitive school sport. What in the past
has sometimes happened is only the very best have been able to have a chance of representing
their school or even taking part in competition. What we're doing through having B, C and D
teams is widening the base of competition. It isn't affecting quality, it's just giving
more people the chance to have a go. Ensuring that youngsters who've got a disability or
special needs are involved in the School Games is absolutely key. It's one of the key things
I think we can do and you can make a step change - involve them at every level. In the
National Finals, eight of the sports will have a disability element to them, ensuring
that for the first time they're represented on the same level as able-bodied youngsters.
>> JEREMY HUNT: To be part of the School Games, you have to make a commitment. You have to
make a commitment that you'll have sport not just on Sports Days but you'll have competitive
sport throughout the year, that you'll have disability sport - that many schools don't
do very much of at the moment - that you'll have a cultural element. So it's basically
getting schools to raise their game and I think that will mean that we can harness the
amazing excitement that we're going to have next year to mean that, you know, when people
are inspired by seeing all these Olympic heroes win their medals, they might just want to
do more sport in their own schools as well.
[applause]