Mayor Nicholas Trimble launches Sports Day initiative for Lisburn schools

Councillor Nicholas Trimble Mayor of Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council is encouraging all local schools to participate in the Healthy Kidz Sports Day to celebrate the end of the year and enjoy some physical exercise.

As part of this initiative, he aims to raise funds for his two chosen charities, the Lisburn and Dundonald Foodbanks in a specially designed ‘Beat the Mayor Challenge’.

Speaking about the Sports Day initiative, The Mayor said: “I’m so excited to launch this campaign in our local schools.

With children now back at school, I want to encourage them to get outside for physical activities, have fun and enjoy Sports Day with their school friends.

“Lockdowns and school closures have been extremely tough on school children and staff. What our children need now is a sense of normality.

Therefore, through this initiative, we are providing a solution with Healthy Kidz and the Henderson Group to relieve any stress and pressure on principals, and ultimately help them deliver their schools Sports Day.

“I’ve set Mayoral challenges for the children to compete against me and I can’t wait to see the results. The fun sporting activities include the traditional Egg and Spoon Race, a welly boot toss, high jump and lots more. The children will also compete against other pupils in their school and record all results in the Healthy Kidz website.

“I’m planning to visit some local schools and I look forward to seeing the children being outside, laughing and creating memories. All funds raised from the Mayor’s Challenge will be donated to assist the two foodbanks to continue their charity work, providing emergency food supplies in the local community.”

The Henderson Group and their SPAR, EUROSPAR, ViVO and ViVOXTRA brands have partnered with Healthy Kidz.

Speaking about the partnership, Bronagh Luke, Head of Corporate Marketing at the Henderson Group said: “We are absolutely delighted to be part of the Healthy Kidz Sports Day initiative again this year. We care a lot about the health and wellbeing of young children and through our involvement, we look forward to helping thousands of local schoolchildren stay active and healthy.

“As part of this campaign, all school children will receive a free SPAR sports day pack. We hope schools have fun and we wish them the best of luck in their challenges.”

Paul Carvill, Director of Healthy Kidz said: “Our annual Healthy Kidz Sports Day challenge has been extremely popular among local schools and we are beyond excited to see everyone take part. We’re incredibly grateful to have SPAR, EUROSPAR, ViVO and ViVOXTRA on board and for them to continue their support of Sports Days and the physical health of schoolchildren in Northern Ireland.

“As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, children have not had as much social interaction or physical activity at school. That’s why at Healthy Kidz we provide a physical activity programme, aimed at increasing physical activity, healthy eating, fitness levels and general health among young school children in Northern Ireland.”

Healthy Kidz provide all the resources that schools need to deliver a socially distanced Sports Day. All resources are easily accessible online, free of charge and include the following content: set sporting challenges, how-to video tutorials and downloadable certificates.

To find out more information about the Healthy Kidz Sports Day, visit www.healthy-kidz.com. You can follow all the Sports Day action on the Council’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/LisburnCastlereagh.