SMC student selected National 2018 School Games

Hood selected to compete in national 2018 School Games

Zach Hood, from Hull, has been selected to be part of the U14 England North squad competing in Laser Run at the 2018 School Games – a national multi-sport event for the UK’s most talented school-age athletes taking place at Loughborough University from 30 August to 2 September.
 
12-year-old Hood, who is a student at the St Mary’s College and is a member of the Yorkshire Pentathlon Club, already has an impressive record of success having become Yorkshire U13 Triathlon Champion.
 
Laser Run originated as an element of the modern pentathlon and now exists as a fast-paced and exciting stand-alone competition; athletes combine running and shooting a laser gun at targets in a timed race.
 
Over 1,400 athletes will compete across 11 sports at the School Games, five of which include disability disciplines. This year the School Games has introduced four new sports (Canoeing & Rowing, Laser Run, Netball and Triathlon). The event will give many young people, across a variety of different sports, an experience of high-level competition in a multi-sport environment similar to an Olympic or Paralympic Games.
 
Zach 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 Paralympic champions Hannah Cockroft, Ellie Simmonds and Jonnie Peacock, Olympic champion Adam Peaty, heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson and sprinter Adam Gemili.
 
At the event Hood will experience the excitement of competing at the highest level. He will live in a dedicated Athletes’ Village on the Loughborough University campus, take part in an School Games ceremony and perform in front of huge crowds of spectators.
 
“The School Games National Finals provide a great opportunity for talented young athletes like Zach,” says Ali Oliver, Chief Executive Officer of the Youth Sport Trust. “Competitors get a real taste of what it’s like to be part of a world-class sporting event at the amazing sporting venues of Loughborough University, and the event is a great way to see our future sporting champions in action today.”