School Sport

TWO Berkeley athletes have been selected to compete at the 2016 School Games – a national multi-sport event for the UK’s elite young athletes – taking place at Loughborough University and Sheffield from September 1-4.

Pfeiffer Georgi (pictured), 15, who goes to The Castle School, Thornbury, will represent England South in cycling, while Robert Williams, 17, who studies at Katharine Lady Berkeley’s School in Wotton-under-Edge will represent England in fencing.

Around 1,600 athletes will compete across 12 sports at the event.

Eleven of these events will take place at Loughborough University while the swimmers will be competing at the Ponds Forge International Sports Centre’s Olympic-sized pool in Sheffield.

Georgi, who rides for the Liv Cycling Club, said: “I feel very pleased to be selected.

“I’m excited to represent England South at the School Games.”

Williams, who is a member of Bath Sword Club, said: “I was thrilled to bits and very pleased to have been selected.

“I’m particularly looking forward to fencing with my English team-mates in the team foil competition.”

The young athletes will be following in the footsteps of some of Britain’s biggest sporting stars who have competed at the event before going on to senior international success.

Previous competitors include Rio Olympic gold medallist and world-record breaking swimmer Adam Peaty, other gold winners Owain Doull, Georgie Twigg, Lily Owsley and Elinor Barker At the event they will experience living within an Olympic-style Athletes’ Village.

There is a full education programme for the athletes running throughout the event which aims to give them an insight on life at the very highest level of sporting competition.

The 1,600 athletes will be supported by four hundred volunteers.