GENERAL: The 2010 Commonwealth Games future champions... remember you saw them first at the 2002 Cheshire Youth Games.

The fourth annual Cheshire Youth Games were hosted by Macclesfield.

They celebrated the development and sporting success of young people in sport throughout Cheshire.

The games - supported by AstraZeneca and organised by Macclesfield Council with help from several local sporting groups and bodies - were highly competitive but were run in line with the 'Charter of Fair Play'.

Each sport awarded a fair play trophy, with Vale Royal borough scooping the overall Fair Play award.

Thanks to the support from AstraZeneca, Macclesfield were able to enter teams in all 11 sports, with more than 200 people representing the borough.

There were good news stories from all events - for instancce, both athletics squads won silver medals - and some fantastic individual performances.

The weather was dry, and more than 1,600 young people, aged from nine to 16, competed in 22 competitions spanning 11 sports.

Youngsters took part in athletics, basketball, cricket, hockey, netball, rugby union, table tennis and tennis, football, boccia and swimming competitions.

Fallibroome High School and Upton Priory Juniors collaborated to put together this year's Boccia squad and gained third place in the team event and a gold medal in the pairs competition.

The basketball competition saw the first ever girls team to represent the borough - from Tytherington High School - getting some excellent results.

And the boys' squad achieving the borough's best ever position in basketball by getting second place in the final.

The girls' cricket squad put together some impressive innings in their competition thanks to the training sessions put in at Poynton Cricket Club.

There was gold at last for the under-12 girls' football team, after years of coming so close, and the under-14 girls put in some creditable performances.

Macclesfield continue to lead the way in hockey. But the tension was almost too much to bear, as the girls team - after not losing a game in open play - missed out on penalty flicks. The boys won their final in the same circumstances.

Big strides forward were made in rugby, with Upton Priory Juniors, who won the Macc borough tournament to become the local representatives, entered a school 'year five' team - younger than all the other districts. Yet they still achieved some excellent results and are looking forward to next year.

The boys' rugby squad took third place, the borough's best ever position, thanks to a comprehensive coaching programme supported by Macclesfield and Wilmslow rugby clubs.

And the girls from Henbury High School who made up the girls rugby team got to the final and claimed the silver medals (although they feel it should have been gold).

The swimmers in the under-10 and under-11 squads maintained their high standards, and finished second.

Elsewhere, the table tennis tournament gave the opportunity for some new players to get involved.

They gained valuable experience and an overall third position.

Playing standards at the tennis competition were the highest ever and both squads performed with credit as the under-13s did well to progress to the final stages.

All of the above would not have been possible without the enthusiasm and commitment from the young people, who were a credit to themselves, the borough and the schools and clubs they came from.

Credit too goes to the many team managers and assistants who volunteered their time for the benefit of the young people who came through the various trials and coaching sessions to compete at the Youth Games.

Without the support of more than 300 volunteers, coaches and team managers the 2002 Cheshire Youth Games would not be possible.

So thanks to all those who made it possible

Macclesfield Council would like to thank the following groups and individuals for supporting the Cheshire Youth Games (with apologies for any omissions):

Athletics - Macclesfield Harriers and Handforth Athletics Clubs, Margaret & Sandy Black, Jacqui Burton, Julie Walton and Paul Dixon.

Boccia - Fallibroome High School and Upton Priory Junior School, Chris Hutchings, Olwyn Hazlewood and all the support staff.

Basketball (Boys) - Dave Price, Alan Birchall, Chelford Basketball Club and Henbury High School.

Basketball (Girls) - Tytherington High School, Bev Kinder and Margaret Mottershead.

Cricket (Girls) - Dave Haddleton, Dave Fitzsimmons, Poynton High School and Poynton Cricket Club.

Football (Girls) - Macclesfield Town Lades, Football in the Community, Steph Knott, Colin Charlton, Mike Beresford and Tanya Foster.

Hockey (Boys) - Nick Millard, Beau Great-Rex and Tytherington High School.

Hockey (Girls) - Cath Linaker, Jim Barrow and Wilmslow High School.

Netball - Andrea Whiston, Louise Snape and Pauline Scott.

Rugby (Boys) - Steve Heaney, Nick Mannion, Andy Walter, Macclesfield and Wilmslow Rugby Clubs.

Rugby (Girls) - Ian Dixsee and Henbury High School.

Rugby Primary - Simon Price and Upton Priory Junior School.

Swimming - Farouk Graba, Pauline Busby, Anne Bradbury, Alan Allcock, Helen McFarlane and Kevin Nutall.

Table Tennis - Ian Willsdon, Alan Blears, Denise Timmins, Paul Corr and Henbury High School.

Tennis - Danny Connolly, Ben Bush and Macclesfield Tennis Club.

And finally, a thank you to AstraZeneca for supporting the Games as a whole.