THE TIME has come for the children of Saddleworth to lace up and line up, with registration for the Saddleworth Village Olympics now open for 2026.
Now in its 41st year, the Village Olympics will welcome more than a thousand young athletes across twenty different sporting events, open for those between seven- and 14-years old.
The Opening Ceremony will kick off at Saddleworth School at 9am on 5 September, before touring through venues across Saddleworth for the following two weeks.
This year’s schedule will include a host of team and solo sports, including basketball; cricket; football; swimming; tug of war; and more.
For the first time, both the racketball and dodgeball events have expanded to include Year 7-8 and Year 9-10 categories respectively.
The aim of the Games is to encourage sportsmanship and teamwork among Saddleworth’s children through sports they love – or sports they haven’t tried before.
The Opening Ceremonies typically see a local celebrity or professional athlete for the launch, though this year’s guest has yet to be revealed.
The Saddleworth Village Olympics is a free event hosted by volunteers, and relies on community donations to keep afloat.
In partnership with fundraising charity SuperKind, the organising committee are now asking parents to make a recommended donation of £10, if they can afford to do so.
As the Olympics welcomes new entrants, chairman Stephen Hewitt said he was looking forward to this year’s event – which will also be his last at the helm.
“It’s my last year as chairman this year, after four years of leading a fantastic set of volunteers to put these games on, the time is right that I take a back step and let other lead,” he said.
“I’ll still be involved in the background and be at some events, but it’s time for new input and fresh ideas. The SVO will be in great hands, though, with Scott Chapman set to take over.
“It’s come around quick again this year for the registration stage of the Saddleworth Village Olympics. I can’t wait for this year’s event to start, especially our expanded events too; it’s great to get as many children involved as possible.”
Registration is now open for this year’s Games via a new website. Children who have taken part before will need to be re-registered, along with the sports they plan to take part in.
Registration details and further information about the Games is available here.
You must be logged in to post a comment.