A Cheerful World Record For West Midlands Youth

July 14, 2010 - PRLog -- On Friday 6th August, young people from across the region will be attempting to break the Guiness World Record for the largest group cheerleading dance ever.

The attempt, which will take place at Nechells Community Sport Centre at 10.30am, will kick off the annual West Midlands StreetGames festival, an event scheduled to see around 600 young people from disadvantaged areas across the region come together to participate in free sports and activities.

The previous record stands at 297 people but Kim Clark, who co-ordinates Street Cheer activities for StreetGames in the West Midlands, believes the region’s youngsters are up to the challenge. She said: “Street Cheer, which is a blend of cheerleading and Street Dance, has taken off in this region big style – it’s so popular! All our groups have been learning one big routine in the build up to the festival and I think we’re going to smash the previous record. What a great start to the festival it will be to have a new Guiness World Record!”

The festival itself is part of StreetGames’ Legacy Leaders programme, an initiative recognised by the London 2012 Inspire Mark for its commitment to getting more young people active by 2012. The event will see teams of young people from some of the region’s most deprived areas come together to show off their sporting skill and compete in a range of tournaments including football, basketball, badminton and of course Street Cheer.

Special taster sessions will also be available in Ultimate Frisbee, handball and Panna football. The young people taking part will also be able to test their speed and agility on special reaction based machines, and perhaps even put Wayne Rooney to shame by showing their striking skills in a penalty shoot out area.  

Kerry McDonald, West Midlands Regional Manager for StreetGames, believes the day is a crucial event in the region’s calendar. He explains: “The young people taking part in this event are from community projects that operate all year round to give young people from deprived areas the chance to play and enjoy sport regardless of financial or social circumstances. This event is something they really look forward to and is a chance for them to feel what it’s like to take part in a big sporting event. It’s such an important day for youth sport development in the West Midlands.”

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StreetGames is an award winning national charity launched in 2007. A national centre of expertise for developing sport in disadvantaged communities, the charity helps to make sport accessible to all young people, regardless of their income or social circumstances, It does this by supporting and establishing local projects around the UK that deliver doorstep sport, i.e. positive activities and sport provided to young people when they want it, where they want it and how they want it. Over 1million attendances have already been generated by StreetGames projects.

StreetGames’ ongoing work to change sport, communities and lives has been recognised by The Chief Medical Officer’s Public Health Awards, The Charity Awards, The Business Charity Awards and Beyond Sport. For full details of our awards success, visit the ‘About Us’ section on our website www.streetgames.org.