Panathlon Challenge West London Final held at St Mary’s

Over 160 pupils from 21 schools took part in the Panathlon Challenge West London Final recently at St Mary’s University, Twickenham. The Panathlon Challenge is a national charity, which provides sporting opportunities for disabled young athletes through mini Paralympic competitions. The event, held for the second time at the University, saw students from the BA Physical and Sport Education (PSE) programme help as ‘sports leaders’ throughout the day, where they supported the athletes and marshalled the events, which took place in the sports centre at St Mary’s Strawberry Hill Campus. The athletes competed in a range of sports, including javelin, shot put, wheelchair slalom, and table cricket amongst many others. The team from Sutton repeated their victory from last year to secure a place in the London champions final. Speaking after the event, one of the teachers said, “We had a really lovely day yesterday. All the staff and students from St Mary's were amazing.” Sports Facilities Manager Tish Jayanetti said, “This is the second year that St Mary’s has hosted the Panathlon Challenge and the event was a great success. The students on the PSE programme really enjoyed working with the young athletes and were excellent ambassadors for the University – a note of thanks to PSE Programme Director Andy Stopher for his support to get the students involved. We are looking forward to hosting the event again next year.”