I wouldn’t usually refer to major youth sporting events as buses but after having a prolonged period without one, two came along at once.

The first event was last month’s inaugural Summer Youth Olympic Games in Singapore which had all the glitz and glamour you might expect of such an event.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) members were out in force, the spectacular Opening and Closing Ceremonies took place on the world’s largest floating stage and ambassadors for the Games included current sporting legends such as Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps and Yelena Isinbayeve.

The second event was the slightly less well publicised Sainsbury’s UK School Games which took place in the North East of England at sporting venues across Gateshead, Newcastle and Sunderland.

Just days after arriving back from the latter competition in Singapore and still struggling to shake of the effects of my lingering jetlag, I headed off to North East of England for the former not really expecting to be overawed by the event following my trip to Asia.

The annual UK School Games, which is organised by the Youth Sport Trust widely credited as being the brainchild of former Labour Sports Minister Richard Caborn, was inaugurated in Glasgow in 2006 meaning that the competition in the North East of England was the fifth edition of the event.

In the past, it has been unfairly labeled as a glorified school sports day but over the years, it has gradually grown in stature to become rather more respected.

This was the first thing that hit me upon arriving at Gateshead with the large posters of young athletes around the city reminding me of the ones I had witnessed in Singapore.

Another thing that quickly evoked pleasant memories of Singapore for me was the general buzz of emanating from the young athletes I spoke to. There was that same infectious excitement I encountered in seeing them and their bright faces at the prospect of competing in large stadiums and in front of large crowds for the first time. 

I must admit, I didn’t have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the UK School Games before heading to North East England so it was the little things that surprised me most such as the fact that there was an Athlete’s Village and an Opening Ceremony.

When I heard about the Opening Ceremony before heading to the event, I thought it would be one individual making a short speech in a small room about how great the UK School Games is so I was rather taken aback to find myself sitting in Gateshead International Stadium last Thursday (September 2) watching 1,600 elite school aged athletes parading in front of the assembled VIP’s and public.

The event was hosted by no less than BBC Sport presenter Jill Douglas and saw the Cultural Secretary Jeremy Hunt and triple jump world record holder Jonathan Edwards (pictured) speak before Vancouver 2010 winter Olympic gold medalist Amy Williams, who had also travelled to Singapore to help mentor the British athletes, took to the stage and declared the Games open.

There were ten sports on show on the packed four-day programme and of the admittedly small amount I did get to see, I was mightily impressed by the standard.

It wasn’t as high as the standard I saw from the young Olympians in Singapore, but I saw a couple of individuals who could give them a run for their money - not least the 100 metre sprint champion at the event David Bolarinwa who actually won a Youth Olympic silver and bronze medal in Singapore.

Before draw too many comparisons between the Youth Olympics and the UK School Games, I must add that there were a fair few differences. The North East of England, while surprising charming, does not provide the stunning backdrop of Singapore and the venues, while top-notch, were not the world class ones I sat in Singapore. I could also refer to the obvious factors such as the North East of England being a fair amount colder than South East Asia but I feel I would be straying from my point a little.

I guess in looking back at the two, the biggest surprise must be that there was any similarity between the two at all but there in fact many. Good sport, friendly volunteers, a huge excitement among the athletes a small selection of future stars who already have the look of being future Olympic medallists.

In fact, some of the first athletes’ to compete in the UK School Games will be representing Delhi at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and Paralympic swimmer Ellie Simmonds has gone on to do rather well since picking up a medal at the event.

I am not saying that Gateshead, Newcastle and Sunderland are anything like Singapore, but they do a rather good impression.

The UK School Games are set to run to 2012 in their current format until before they become the pinnacle of the new Olympic and Paralympic-style schools sports competition launched by Hunt and Education Secretary Michael Grove in May.



The 2011 event will be held in Sheffield while whispers suggest that the Olympic Park in Stratford could be a potential venue for the 2012 event but that is another story for another time.

The current dilemma is whether the UK School Games can retain its unique feel of being top class sporting event for youngsters when they become the new Olympic and Paralympic-style schools sports competition finals post 2012 but Hunt assured me that it would.

"We want to build on the structures we have," the Cultural Secretary informed me not long before he spoke at the Opening Ceremony. "We are not in the business of ripping everything up and starting again. I think the UK School Games has come a lot way in five years. I was just talking to Sue Campbell [the Chair of the Youth Sport Trust] on the way here and the way we describe it is that we can use the Schools Olympics to turbo-charge the UK School Games. They will essentially become the National Finals of the School Olympics.

"There are lots of things that we are thinking about that we can do which we think will help develop it. What we want to do is develop a project where this is the top of the pyramid and lots and lots of things further down.

"I’m incredibly impressed by this event though and it really is a mini-Olympics with the Village and the transport arrangements which gives the youngsters a flavor of what it is all about."

With the Cultural Secretary on side, it seems the UK School Games have half the battle won in ensuring their own long term legacy.

But in fairness, any sports event that can make North East England resemble Singapore probably deserves a lifespan past 2012. 

Tom Degun is a reporter for insidethegames who covered the inaugural Summer Youth Olympic Games in Singapore and the Sainsbury’s UK School Games