1,500 children participate in SPAR Lancashire School Games Finale

A total of 1,500 children competed across 14 different activities and events at the SPAR Lancashire School Games Finale.

Held at Blackpool’s Stanley Park, the event involved children from primary, secondary and special schools. They participated in sports ranging from athletics to rugby, cricket to football, and netball to rounders.

Alongside the physical activities, winners were announced for the SPAR Lancashire School Games eco-trainer design competition, and children from both Anchorsholme Academy and Millfield Science & Performing Arts College in Blackpool performed their successful acts after winning the recent dance finals held at Blackpool Opera House.

The Lancashire School Games, which are run by Active Lancashire and the School Games Organiser Network, have been sponsored by SPAR since 2006 through its association with James Hall & Co, SPAR’s primary wholesaler and distributor for the North of England.

In 2022-23, the Games have engaged 24,000 children in sport and activities across Lancashire through 23 feature events and competition. An environmental awareness theme ran throughout the academic calendar of competition.

Niels Dekkers, retail development & marketing director at James Hall & Co, said: “Year after year the team at Active Lancashire and the School Games Organiser Network put on a tremendous programme of activities and competitions for young people to participate in, and this delivered again with a huge number of children benefiting countywide. It is why we are proud to have placed SPAR’s name as sponsor since 2006.”

Adrian Leather, chief executive of Active Lancashire, added: “As always, the SPAR Lancashire School Games Finale was a fantastic celebration of endeavour and achievement, and my congratulations go to all competitors and winners on the day.

“The positive impact the School Games programme has had on children both physically and mentally across Lancashire is profound every year, and we could not fulfil our ambitions without the support we enjoy from SPAR and James Hall & Co.”

In other news, SPAR’s ‘Win With Every Goal’ promotion has won Best Shopper Campaign at the Alliance of Independent Agencies Awards.

The campaign, which was devised by Abraxas Marketing and implemented by James Hall & Co, won the accolade with its digital twist on the office sweepstake. The promotion took place across November and December 2022, coinciding with the biggest football tournament of the year.