Baroness Campbell: 'School Games National Finals play a crucial role'

The chair of England Netball and former chief executive of the Youth Sport Trust hailed the event as being ‘massively important’ for young athletes, particularly young girls, with more than two-thirds of the athletes competing in Loughborough this year being female.

Campbell, who was also the chair of UK Sport between 2003 and 2013, has played a huge role in promoting women’s sport throughout her career and is confident the School Games National Finals can help more girls progress their performance level.

The School Games National Finals is the UK’s biggest multi-sport event and takes place between 3–6 September, with more than 1,000 athletes taking part across 11 sports, including disability disciplines.

Campbell said: “I’m very focused on girls and women’s sport, but we’re still in a very evolving situation. You can have an illusion that we’re doing brilliantly because we win internationally, but all of our pathways from participation through to the top end are still evolving.

“The School Games has a huge part to play in helping sports like netball and others to help girls travel that pathway in an organised and structured way.”

The School Games National Finals is supported by National Lottery funding from Sport England and delivered by the Youth Sport Trust, providing young athletes with the opportunity to perform at the highest level.

The sporting extravaganza is being held at Loughborough University, whose first-class facilities provide a safe competitive environment and the experience of being part of a major sporting event.

The School Games National Finals has acted as a key milestone in the careers of many of the UK’s top athletes, with the event’s alumni including four-time European gold medallist Amy Hunt, mile world record holder Josh Kerr, three-time Olympic champion Adam Peaty, Olympic bronze medallist Georgia Hunter Bell and the most decorated athlete in European Championship history, Dina Asher-Smith.

Campbell also underlined the growth of the competition since its inception in 2006, and maintained British governing bodies must take extra care of the talented athletes who have been performing during the week.

She added: “There’s been a massive change. I think the first only had a few sports in it and we did it very quickly, but we managed to get it up and running. Since then, it’s evolved as British sport is evolving, so now it’s about how we identify young talent and then, very importantly, how we nurture and develop that talent as far as they want to go on their journey.

“The School Games [National Finals] are massively important. It’s a multi-sport event, which is unique for young people. It gives them a sense of what it is to be a performance athlete, and not just playing in your own circle of friends. I’m a great believer that ordinary people can make their dreams come true, and those dreams are lit in places like this.”

The School Games National Finals is a biennial four-day multi-sport event for young athletes of school age. It is delivered by the Youth Sport Trust and National Governing Bodies, hosted by Loughborough University, and funded by Sport England and players of the National Lottery.