A letter to myself: world renowned sports stars share advice ahead of the Sainsbury’s 2015 School Games

A letter to myself: world renowned sports stars share advice ahead of the Sainsbury’s 2015 School Games

01 September 2015

Four of Britain’s best known athletes are passing on their advice to the next generation of sports stars in an online film released to celebrate this year’s Sainsbury’s School Games.

  • Ellie Simmonds, Jonnie Peacock, Dina Asher-Smith and Richard Kilty feature in a short film to celebrate the Sainsbury’s School Games.
  • Athletes asked what advice they’d write in a letter to their childhood selves.

Four-time Paralympic champion Ellie Simmonds, London 2012 gold medallist Jonnie Peacock, Britain’s fastest woman Dina Asher-Smith and World and European champion Richard Kilty all feature in the short film. They reflect on what advice they would pass on in a letter to their younger selves to support this year’s Sainsbury’s School Games contestants. All four athletes competed at the Sainsbury’s School Games and credit it as part of their journey to the top. The film will be shown to 1,600 young athletes and 450 volunteers at Thursday’s Opening Ceremony for the Sainsbury’s 2015 School Games at Manchester Arena

The Games, now in its 10th year, has been a launch pad for many of Britain’s elite athletes. Other previous Sainsbury’s School Games competitors include heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson, swimming star Adam Peaty, Great Britain sprinter Adam Gemili and Olympic gymnast Max Whitlock.

Sainsbury’s is committed to encouraging and enabling inclusive school sport. As well as supporting the Sainsbury’s School Games, the retailer has donated over £150 million worth of equipment and experiences through its Active Kids scheme since it began in 2005.

View the film at: https://youtu.be/TMgekTW9USw

Notes to Editors:

Sainsbury’s School Games

The Sainsbury’s School Games are set across four levels. Across the year young people compete in a range of sport at class-v-class, school-v-school and in county-wide sport festivals as part of the Games.

Nationally and locally the Sainsbury's School Games are delivered through partnerships. The national partnership is made up of:

  • Department for Culture, Media and Sportwhich has overall policy leadership, supported by the Department for Education and the Department of Health.
  • Sport Englandwho are in charge of distributing Lottery funding and are supporting the engagement of Sports Governing Bodies and County Sports Partnerships.
  • Youth Sport Trust, who are the landscape lead organisation for school sport. They have been commissioned by Sport England to provide development support to schools, sports and other local partners.

Over £128m of Lottery and Government funding is being invested to support the School Games.