Saddleworth Village Olympics bring communities together once again

The stirring rendition of “God save the King” acted as a poignant reminder to the 1,000 children taking part in the launch of the Saddleworth Village Olympics at the weekend.

It was set against the announcement of the Queen's death and the solemnity of the occasion when entrants, coaches and parents stood in a respectful minute's silence to honour her memory.

Twenty-year-old Nathan Green’s singing of the national anthem echoed off the surrounding hills and set the scene before the.games were officially opened by local rugby union star George Ford.

Then smoke bombs released seven colours of the Olympic teams into the air before the athletics event got underway.

Sunday saw 36 matches of hockey and almost 50 swimming races over the course of the day. 

Representative from Oldham hockey club, who helped umpire and set up on the day, noted the standards shown by the young competitors was really impressive.  

The junior trophy was won by Diggle and the Seniors by Lygate, Grasscroft Friezland and Grotton.

This was mirrored later in the day when the junior swimming was won by Diggle and the Senior swimming was won by LGFG.

Summing up the launch weekend, retiring chair Adrian Green said: “We had some teething problems which was to be expected given the new facilities, but everything seemed to run well and the main thing is the children seemed to enjoy themselves.  

“Our sincere thanks to the site staff at Saddleworth School who were magnificent and helped massively over the course of the two days. 

"Events continue this week with dodgeball and basketball mid week before a weekend of rounders, netball and tag-rugby.”

And parents praised the games on social media for helping bring communities together. 

The games, which began  in 1985, have become a cherished community event for children, parents and carers.  

“It is difficult to remember, given the scale of the games, the entire event is organised and run by a large group of dedicated volunteers who work tirelessly throughout the year to make the games fun, inclusive and safe as possible,” said Mr Green, whose son Nathan, aged 20, is a student at Durham University. 

“We simply couldn’t run it without them and I would like to pass on our sincere thanks to them all,” he added.

“We are constantly looking to improve and this year we have a fantastic brochure funded by the several sponsors.

"Their kind generosity has allowed us to switch from an entry fee funding structure to a donation model.  

“This allows competitors to enter free of charge if they wish and we hope this will lead to increased competitor numbers.

"It also helps parents and carers during these difficult financial times.”

Closing, he paid tribute to his vice chair Stephen Hewitt for his “rousing speech”, and added: “As I step down as chair I am reminded of the words of games founder, David Needham, when we met for the 30th anniversary who  said: "The Saddleworth Village Olympics gets into your blood."

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