Lord Coe met with the Members of Youth Parliament (MYPs) from across the West Midlands including the four members from Shropshire.

After workshops in the morning, members of the WMYP were given the chance to ask Lord Coe and Cllr Chris Saint (Chair of the West Midlands Leadership Group for the 2012 Games) a number of questions about the opportunities the Games will offer young people in the West Midlands. The questions ranged from whether the 2012 Games would deliver new sporting facilities for young people in the West Midlands, to how talented sportsmen and women could go about getting funding or sponsorship for training.

Sebastian Coe said: ‘I agree with the members of the region’s Youth Parliament that the London 2012 vision of inspiring more young people to take up sport must be supported through this sort of investment into facilities and coaching. It is evident that the West Midlands is working hard to make our vision a reality for young people in the region.’

Cllr Chris Saint added: “We are delighted to be welcoming Lord Coe back to the region. Today’s visit gave some of our young people the chance to have their say. Young people are a key focus for the West Midlands Leadership Group for 2012 and we were the first region in the country to have a youth representative on board from the very beginning. Today was the first step in a programme of wider engagement with young people from a variety of different backgrounds from right across the region. It is a unique opportunity for these young people to meet and ask questions directly to Lord Coe and something that they will remember for many years to come.’

Joe White is a Member of the Youth Parliament for Shropshire

For further information
www​.shropshireyouth​.com

Photo courtesy of Adrian Burrows