Athletics showdown draws 550 children

About 550 children from 17 Rotorua district primary schools will compete in the Rotorua Primary School Sports Association Athletics Day next week.

The annual event will be held at Rotorua International Stadium's No2 field.

Sport Bay of Plenty event co-ordinator Ariki Tibble said support from Lake City Athletics Club volunteers and parents encouraged the active children to compete on behalf of their schools.

"Lakes City Athletics have put a lot of effort into offering more opportunities for children and their families."

He said new athletics competitions had received good backing.

"This year we have been able to actively encourage schools to enter athletes with disabilities and the response has been great," he said.

"It all helps to progress our goal to ensure that all children in the region have access to quality sports experiences."

Mr Tibble said some students from a Rotorua Girls' High School physical education class had volunteered to help with the event this year.

"One of our goals for 2012 is to use social media for promoting our events to parents, so I am looking forward to getting some ideas from the girls as they are the social media experts."