The Pembroke Community Sports Day was held at Pembroke Leisure Centre on a recent Sunday and was rightly hailed as an outstanding success by organisers and parents alike.

Small wonder then that organiser Rominy Colville, who is a member of staff at Sport Pembrokeshire in County Hall, was delighted by the response when around 200 eager youngsters turned up with their parents to sample the 17 sport and leisure activities on offer.

“I was so grateful to the volunteers who turned up to promote their sports, our staff at Sport Pembroke and the Pembroke Leisure Centre staff who gave of their time from 2-4pm, plus parents for being so involved.

“It was lovely to see so much activity and so many questions being asked,” she said, “and I know of one local club who had three new members enrolled the very next day as a result.”

Uplifting enthusiasm

Peter Crook, the squash coaching supremo for West Wales, added: “The enthusiasm shown was uplifting and it was a tonic to have so many people try our game with fellow coach Chris Barker and I busy throughout.”

As well as the joy of new sporting experiences there was also a treat for youngsters who had at least six activities signed on their personal card because their reward was either a smart tee-shirt or a games bag and water bottle.

Strong messages given out

And attend the youngsters did in large numbers as there were old favourites like football, cricket, badminton, athletics, golf and target shooting, whose coach Ron Hovell told us: “We at the Modern Print Target Shooting Club had so many people trying out our special equipment for disability, which will help them realise respect for some of our members like partially blind Rob Jamieson, who showed what he can do at the club.”

Wheelchair basketball was sending out a similar message as it was enjoyed by everyone and organiser Angela Miles said that there were a couple of people in wheelchairs who showed terrific promise, whilst others who tried the sport learned a great deal about what disability sport is all about.

Welcome new sports

There were also welcome new sports like rollerblading, mountain biking, kayaking and archery, plus contact sports like boxing and karate alongside weightlifting.

Dance and cheerleading were innovative and not only enjoyed by girls and boys as well, which summed up the ethos of the entire afternoon.

Parents delighted

As one delighted set of parents commented: “What a great time for our twin boys and daughter because they were able to enjoy so many activities.

“They were still talking about what they did for days afterwards and we would like to say thank you to all the organisers, clubs and organisations involved for making our day as a family!”