The ceremony was hosted by BBC Sport presenter Jill Douglas and saw the 1,600 elite school-aged athletes competing at the event march out in front of the assembled spectators.

Douglas was joined on stage by double Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games swimming champion and Sainsbury's Active Kids ambassador Ellie Simmonds who declared the 2011 Games open.

The 16-year-old from Walsall attended the first ever UK School Games held in Glasgow in 2006 and admitted she was delighted to be back to open the 2011 edition of competition.

"Tonight was so exciting," said Simmonds.

"It was great to come back to the event where I began my career and see the next generation of sporting stars as they begin their journeys.

"I have fond memories of my first athlete's parade in Glasgow in 2006 and no doubt this year's Sainsbury's UK School Games athletes will remember tonight for a long time too."

Also in the audience was Olympic gold medallist and Youth Sport Trust ambassador Jason Gardener who took to the stage for an interview with Douglas.

"It's always great to see the excitement and anticipation as the athletes enter the arena for the first time," said Gardener.

"To experience an atmosphere like this at their age is such a great experience and something which will stand them in good stead in their future sporting careers.

"As they grow into professional athletes they will encounter so many distractions at competition so to come here to Sheffield and have their own Opening Ceremony ahead of this four day competition is great preparation for the future."


The Sainsbury's UK School Games will run until Sunday (September 4), with 12 sports on the programme - a record number for the Games.

In addition to competing across the different sporting disciplines, athletes will stay in an athletes' village, undergo simulation doping control sessions and be mentored by elite athlete role models.

"Tonight was an incredible spectacle; it was so exciting to watch the enthusiasm of each young athlete as they entered the Motorpoint Arena," said Baroness Sue Campbell, the chair of the Youth Sport Trust

"I hope that the evening's events inspire some exceptional performances across the weekend from the UK's most talented young competitors.

The UK School Games has been funded since 2008 with a £6 million ($9.71 million/€6.84 million) grant from Legacy Trust UK, an independent charity set up to help build a lasting cultural and sporting legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Through £750,000 ($1.2 million/€855,000) of additional National Lottery funding provided this year by Sport England, two new sports - wheelchair basketball and rugby sevens - will be included in the UK School Games.

The programme now includes athletics, badminton, fencing, gymnastics, hockey, judo, mountain biking, swimming, table tennis and volleyball, with disability events in swimming, athletics, fencing, table tennis and wheelchair basketball.

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