>> PRINCE HARRY: I am absolutely delighted
to be President of the School Games. Over
the last 12 months, over 1600 of our finest
young sportsmen and women have competed in
a fantastic celebration of sport up and down
the country. And in May this year, the very
first National Finals were held at the Olympic
Park. Our young athletes tested the track
before Usain Bolt; they swam in the pool before
Rebecca Adlington; and they challenged themselves
in the magnificent Olympic Velodrome. Records
were made and broken and over 35,000 people
came out to support these young athletes.
I believe that taking part in sport can be
incredibly beneficial to young people. It
teaches us some of life’s most important
values, such as teamwork, discipline, hard
work and respect. London 2012 wil put sport
in the spotlight in this country like never
before. I hope that young people all over
the UK will feel inspired to follow in the
footsteps of our Olympic heroes and get involved
in sport. 13,000 schools took part in the
School Games in this first year. I would encourage
every school that hasn’t taken part so far
to sign up at yourschoolgames.com. And, to
every student out there who may not think
sport is for them, I would simply say there’s
no better time to have a go – try something
different and start a sporting habit to last
a lifetime.