THE spirit of the Olympics came to Calderdale this weekend with a flag-raising ceremony by some of our future champions to mark the handover of the games.
The Olympic flag was raised over North Bridge Leisure Centre, Halifax, at 4pm yesterday, along with hundreds of other British towns, to coincide with the closing ceremony in Beijing and handover celebrations for London 2012.
Inspired by the likes of Eusain Bolt and Chris Hoy, some of Calder-dale's future gold medal winners gave a dazzling gymnastics demonstration.
Matt Brooks, head gymnastics coach at North Bridge, which has been chosen as an official training site for London 2012, said: "We're very excited about the Olympics coming to England and the knock-on effect that will have on local sport.
"Everyone has been inspired by the games."
Young gymnast Kirsty Parker, 14, of Illingworth, Halifax, said: "I love doing the bars and want to get as good as Beth Tweddle – she is fantastic."
Harry Mellor, nine, of Halifax, whose favourite move is a somersault, said: "I watched a lot of the Olympics and they are all really good, some of it looks impossible.
"I'm very excited about the games coming to England."
Amanda Byrne, Calderdale's Community Services portfolio holder, who attended the ceremony, said: "Our athletes were absolutely fantastic in the Olympics and we hope to give sport a big boost over the coming four years."
The full article contains 243 words and appears in Evening Courier newspaper.
