Over 5000 children have fun and emulate athletics champions with funetics during the Birmingham Commonwealth Games

Team England athletes at the funetics Activation Zone during the 2022 Commonwealth Games

Funetics is all about enabling children and young people to experience athletics with fun, friends or family whilst learning fundamental movement skills. Last week, the “HaveAGo” zone was buzzing with 5,328 children, inspired by seeing athletes across the Commonwealth perform, just moments before they visited funetics.

With running, throwing, and jumping activities to take part in, children could experience for themselves what it takes to perform in the long jump, sprinting, discuss, hammer and javelin events.

From day three, the funetics team shared their pride in Katarina Johnson-Thompson with the children, explaining that the funetics ambassador had retained her second Commonwealth Games Heptathlon medal. Katarina has commented in the past that she might have been an even better athlete had she learned fundamental movement skills when she was very young.

Young child taking part in the funetics Activation Zone at the 2022 Commonwealth Games

Helping to make the connection stronger between what the children were seeing in the stadium and the fundamental movement skills they were trying out in the activation zone, funetics was joined by former Olympic and Commonwealth Champion Marc Lewis-Francis. Marc said:

“It’s great to see the kids taking on the fundamentals of athletics: run, jump and throw. They are the basics of every sport. It’s also been great to see parents get involved and HaveAGo for themselves and support the children.”

Wanting to see what the queues of children and parents around the HaveAGo zone were all about, Team England Pole Vault Champions Adam Hague and Harry Coppell took up balls (not poles on this occasion) to entertain everyone. What a moment for the children and families to see these athletics stars and see their Silver and Bronze medals.

Whilst the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games are now finished, the funetics team as part of the funetics Commonwealth Games Legacy initiative will continue to engage with, support and inspire children and young people in Birmingham and surrounding areas. Throughout the rest of August and during September they will deliver free of charge funetics Holiday Camps and give demonstrations at The Community Games. View the dates and locations of our Holiday Camps.