 The Games of Friendship between Christchurch and teams from three European countries got off to a great start at Avon Tyrrell Activity Centre in Bransgore. The young people aged 14 to 16 from St Ghislain in Belgium, Aalen in Germany and Sierakowice in Poland joined their Christchurch counterparts for the first day of the Games which consisted of activities such as bridge building, archery, a climbing wall, zipwire and crate stacking at Braggers Wood. Earlier in the day the Mayor of Christchurch, Cllr David Flagg, officially opened the Games but first asked the young people to observe a minute’s silence as a mark of respect following the death of the Polish President, Lech Kaczynski, and other senior Polish figures in a plane crash the previous Saturday. Polish VIPs, who had been due to join the team and spend time with councillors and officers from Christchurch Council, had abandoned their trip following the tragedy. The Mayor thanked the young people for coming to the Games, a town twinning event which is held every two years in a different European country, and also thanked all of the volunteers from Christchurch who had organised the event and were acting as team managers and welfare officers over the four days. The Games now continue with football on the new synthetic turf pitches at Two Riversmeet Leisure Complex and swimming and water polo activities in the swimming pool at Two Riversmeet on Wednesday and athletic events at The Grange School and sessions at Snowtrax on Thursday. There will also be a chance for the youngsters to look around Christchurch and take time off to make new friends. |
