Four lucky students from Ivybridge Community College, in Ivybridge, Devon will be spending two weeks at the 2000 Olympic Games between 11 – 24 September, as guests of the British Olympic Association, having finished first out of numerous entries in a nation-wide competition for secondary schools – ‘The Youth Olympic Challenge’.

Lewis Cook, Kim Gentle, Claire Jefferies and Luke Summerfield, all aged 12, as members of the team faced the Youth Challenge which consisted of three elements; sport, nutrition and art. Each member of the team had to try an Olympic sport for a week and keep a diary of their progress. For the artistic section the team had to portray what the Olympic Spirit meant to them.

The winners’ sports included athletics and tennis. For the artistic section the two girls choreographed a sporting dance and the two boys created an Olympic rap for the girls to dance to.

During their time in Sydney, the young winners will see some of the sporting events, visit the Olympic Village, attend some of the cultural spectacles and the Opening Ceremony.

‘The Ivybridge entry was very good indeed’ said Jan Paterson, Director, Olympic Foundation. ‘You could tell just how much effort each of the students had put into the project and their understanding of the Olympic ideals of fair play and personal excellence was very apparent.’

For more information please contact:

Jan Paterson tel: 020 8871 2677 ext. 206
Director, Olympic Foundation

Mr Mike Baines tel: 01752 691000 (w) 01364 72559 (h)
Teacher, Ivybridge Community College

Source: British Olympic Association