THE Devon Games to Inspire, which take place in Okehampton later this month, has received a financial boost from the town council.

Mayor Cllr the Rev Mike Davies, Cllr Christine Marsh and town clerk Don Bent visited an OCRA session at Parklands to present the charity with a cheque for £500 to help fund the games, which are on Saturday June 30.

Devon Games to Inspire is a festival-style sports extravaganza, bringing together more than 1,200 young people aged 8 to 16 from across Devon to compete against, and win points for their region.

Stuart Lord, manager of OCRA said: 'It is donations like this that keep OCRA going and help make events like this happen.

'We are very grateful to the town council for their continued support, and hope people come down and enjoy the Games to Inspire. The games will show off Okehampton's fantastic sporting and recreational facilities to the whole of Devon.'

The event is being organised by OCRA, which lobbied to get the event in the town. The sports available include athletics, badminton, hockey, netball, street sports like skateboarding and BMX, table tennis and volleyball.

As well as events for youngsters, there will be plenty of sports events for the community. Arsenal Football Club Soccer Schools will be teaching skills, holding penalty shoot-outs, and have a speed gun to see who in Okehampton has the hardest shot.

Hockey Nation will have an inflatable hockey pitch and teaching skills, while other sports on offer include squash, ultimate frisbee, fly-fishing and a wind-surfing simulator. Alongside the sport there will be plenty of art activities.

The organisation has a busy summer of sport planned, with the annual festival of sport kicking off on Saturday July 30 with the Games to Inspire, running to Sunday July 8.

There is a wide range of sports throughout the week for the community to get involved in, including tennis, cricket, badminton, martial arts, fencing and many more.

Running parallel to the sports festival from Monday July 2 to Friday July 6 is the primary schools Olympics, promoting sports to hundreds of children in the area and generating excitement for the London Olympics.

For more information on OCRA, Devon Games to Inspire and the activities currently on offer, visit http://www.ocrasport.org.uk">www.ocrasport.org.uk or call 01837 54546.