MORE than 1,000 youngsters became instant heroes on Saturday in the county?s biggest sports day of the year ? the Devon Youth Games, hosted for the first time in Okehampton by West Devon Borough Council. In a day full of outstanding performances, nobody epitomised the spirit of the day more than 11-year-old William Carter from Tavistock. The Tavistock College schoolboy, taking part in the aquathlon ?a mix of swimming and running ? looked set for bronze, when his opponent in front of him became violently ill just yards from the finishing line. Will, who had been trailing his opponent, passed him and was awarded second place. But he sportingly handed the award to his opponent and settled for the bronze instead. His team manager, Paul Chinn, said afterwards: ?It was incredibly good spirited. Will instinctively knew that the placing wasn?t his and felt it was the right thing to do. He?s a good lad with a big heart.? Team West Devon achieved its best position ever in the games, which are held every year at different local authority venues across the county. The West Devon team won gold in the Year 9/10 aquathlon, silver medals in the year 5/6 aquathlon, boys? volleyball and the girls? volleyball and bronze in street sports and badminton. In the fair play awards, the team won a maximum 10 points in five of the events. Tammy Messenger, West Devon sports development officer, who coordinated the games, said the West Devon team managers had done a marvellous job. Tammy said Will Carter?s extraordinary gesture summed up everything the event stood for. She said: ?It was an awesome thing to do, but typical of the way every child worked together to make the games an event they will never forget ? I?m so proud of everybody who took part.? Two trophies were up for grabs on the day, postponed in June due to waterlogged pitches. Teams battled for the overall winners? tropHy and fair play trophy. The overall winners were Plymouth, tied in second place were Teignbridge, Exeter and South Hams. Mid Devon, last year?s winners, were third, West Devon fourth, Torbay fifth and Torridge sixth. In the fair play trophy, South Hams came first, Exeter second, West Devon third, Plymouth and Torbay tied for fourth, followed by Torridge, Mid Devon and Teignbridge. The youngsters competed in eleven sports, representing their district area in teams. The new sport this year was gymnastics and the other activities were aquathlon (swimming/running), athletics, badminton, girls? cricket, hockey, netball, street sports, tag rugby, tennis and volleyball. Special guest was British Commonwealth diving champion Brooke Graddon. Brooke held workshops throughout the day to pass on her expertise. West Devon deputy mayor Cllr Mandy Govier said: ?The event is a great opportunity for children to get involved in a big sporting arena. I spoke to competitors, coaches, volunteers and parents and everyone was delighted at how well organised it was. It wasn?t just the winners who enjoyed themselves, it was every child who took part ? that was what this event was all about. Thanks to everyone involved, particularly Tammy Messenger, who played a key role in organising the event.? Brooke Graddon, who is returning to full training after injury and is aiming for a spot on the Great Britain Olympic team for next year, said: ?I really enjoy days like this because it?s brilliant to see so many children getting involved in sport. If they had as good a day as I did, they must have enjoyed themselves.? Sponsorship for the games came from DML, Devon County Council and West Devon Borough Council. Further help came from Barratt Homes, Warburtons, Lloyds Pharmacy, Tarka Springs, Okehampton Football Club, Waitrose, the Co-op in Hatherleigh, Tavistock College and Mansells the builders.
