Pictured above: (Back l/r) The Challenge participants Ben Lenton, Marcus Sellars, Jordanne Podmore and Beth Hanson with (Front l/r) Barney Harker, from The Challenge, and Mark Cooke, from Coventry Sports Foundation

Youngsters from across the region have been experiencing a challenging time at two city leisure centres.

Organisers of The Challenge selected the Coventry Sports Foundation-managed Xcel Leisure Centre, in Canley, and the Alan Higgs Centre, in Allard Way, as venues for the latest instalment of the project.

The Challenge brings 15 and 16-year-olds from diverse backgrounds together to take on physical, social and civic challenges that prepare them to design and deliver a project that will make a difference in their community.

Along the way they learn key skills such as teamwork, leadership and communication, and are encouraged to develop trust in others, responsibility for themselves, understanding and empathy.

Around 180 youngsters will have visited the two centres during three weeks in the city spent learning a range of skills, such as photography, drama, design and media, before taking part in activities which will benefit the local community.

Projects the youngsters have been involved in, include creating flyers with Coventry City Council for the re-launch of the Memorial Park and visiting local care homes.

David Gibson, The Challenge programme manager for Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire, said: "Venues like the Alan Higgs and the Xcel Leisure Centres are ideal for us as they can provide us with a variety of rooms from large function halls for the showcase events to smaller break out rooms for the groups to work on their projects.

"It is crucial we work with local partners, we always research the area to see what venues and facilities are on offer, and these two centres ticked every box.

"The Xcel Leisure Centre and Alan Higgs Centre are also very community focused, so are we as a project, so that works really well."

Around 540 youngsters from Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire will have taken part in The Challenge by its completion as well as 3,000 nationally.

The group will return in September to undertake a project at the Alan Higgs Centre in conjunction with the Living Environment Trust before returning again to another Coventry Sports Foundation-managed site at Centre AT7, in Bell Green Road, in October to begin a big project which will see improvements to the outdoor activity and garden areas. 

Mark Cooke, events and hospitality manager for Coventry Sports Foundation, said: "We were delighted to be able to offer our facilities to the organisers of The Challenge and the youngsters taking part to help them form strong links with a number of local partners.

"It has been a pleasure to host them across two of our centres and we are looking forward to welcoming them back to Centre AT7 later in the year."