Virtual competitions and online leader board in response to pandemic.
The Black Country School Games has gone online for the academic year 2020/21 with virtual competitions running from September until December in each local authority along with a monthly Battle of the Black Country finale to determine the overall winners.
Co-ordinated and developed by Active Black Country and the Black Country School Games Organisers, each month sees a new competition posted online which will last for three weeks in total. The Virtual School Games builds on the success of the Black Country School Games in June 2020 which went online in response to the pandemic and saw over 4,200 entries from 58 
Ian Carey, Active Black Country Director said: “We’ve been hugely impressed by the commitment of schools across the Black Country to continue participating in the annual Black Country School Games. The School Games normally bring together schools from across the area throughout the year so it’s great to see Schools competing virtually.
“The Black Country School Games showcases the energy and passion young people have for sport and competition and we look forward to seeing who will top the leader board over the coming months.”
The Games launched at the start of term with the Active Mile which saw pupils across the Black Country complete a 1mile route within their school grounds recording the fastest time and the most miles completed. Bentley West Primary School in Walsall clocked up the fastest time in years 1, 2 and 3 with Tividale Hall Primary School, Tividale taking the lead in years 4 and 6 whilst King Charles Primary School in Walsall recorded the fastest time in year 5 putting Walsall ahead in the Battle of the Black Country. Year 5s at Wren’s Nest Primary School kept Dudley in the running, completing a whopping 60 miles during the competition.
Craig Webb, Lead Sports Coach for the Bentley Federation said: “We understand the range of benefits physical activity provides to our pupils. PE lessons are an important part of our school curriculum and we have a dedicated team of PE coaches who encourage our children to experience a wide range of sporting activities both in and out of school.
“During the current Coronavirus pandemic, we have been unable to participate in competitions as we normally would and identified that our children were missing the opportunity to take part in competitive sport. The Virtual School Games have enabled our pupils to continue to compete against other schools in the Black Country in a virtual way and we are so proud of the achievements and successes that the children of King Charles and Bentley West have had.”
Each of the schools will aim to extend their lead in the second competition, Skipping, which runs until 23rd October. From 2nd November until 20th November the competition will focus on Multi Skills and from 23rd November until 11th December the focus will be Sports Hall Athletics.
Activity descriptions and key pointers can be found on the Active Black Country website.