Local youngsters have been keeping fit over the summer by indulging in some of their favourite sporting activities – courtesy of Chance Camp.

Chance Camp has given young people aged four to 14 across West Cumbria different sporting opportunities over the six-week summer holidays.

The camps are delivered in three different age groups, with the activities tailored to their needs but with progression built in to ensure development takes place.

Organiser Chris Wright said: “We now have children in their seventh year of Chance Camp and it’s fantastic to see the progress made. By the end of summer we will have delivered six multi-sport camps, two Olympic camps, one racket sports, one rugby and one football camp.

“We have worked with the host venues such as Cockermouth RUFC, Netherhall Community Sports Centre, Kirkbride School, Silloth RUFC, Dalston recreational pitches, Wigton’s Barton Laws Playing Field and Thursby Playing Fields.”

And it is not just the budding sports star who benefit from the camps.

Mr Wright explained: “Chance Camp is also used to support the next generation of coaches and we have gladly hosted four ex-Chance Campers who have volunteered as assistant coaches. Two of them, Sophie Smyth and Eilsa Hutton, are off on a World Challenge to Malaysia soon and we have gladly sponsored them for this trip.”

The principles of Chance Camp are to work on a range of sporting skills in the morning and ensure the children have the opportunity to transfer these skills to at least two different sports competitions in the afternoon.

“We encourage the children to be competitive but understand the importance of how to react to winning and losing,” added Mr Wright.

“We hope Chance Campers that leave us at 14 have the self-confidence to try and reach their full sporting potential in a specific sports pathway but have a broad base of fundamental sporting skills to easily transfer onto other sport pathways if the need arises and ultimately have a life-long involvement in sport.”

The last Chance Camp of the summer takes place next week from Tuesday to Thursday.

After a short break the dates for the camps in 2018/19 will be on the website: www.chancecamp.co.uk