ACTIVE children from across the Borders will be rewarded this summer by local leisure charity, Live Borders.

To celebrate the 2020 Tokyo Olympics the local active schools teams have devised Games Passports for youngsters to sweat their way towards bronze, silver and gold medals.

Every primary school pupil in the Borders will be able to take part from next month.

Great British hockey star Sarah Robertson, who is originally from Selkirk, officially launched Training for Tokyo 2020 Games Passport this week.

She said: "The Passport is a great initiative to get the kids across the Borders taking part in a number of sports.

“Getting kids out playing hockey, football, golf or tennis is brilliant, and with the excitement of the Olympics just around the corner it is a great chance to trial some of the sports like badminton, karate or table tennis.

“Growing up, I played all different sports and I believe it has helped make me become a well-rounded hockey player with transferable skills from many sports.

“Who knows, this year’s Passport may just uncover a future Borders Olympian.”

This is the fifth Passport scheme that Live Borders has overseen following the 2012 London Olympics, 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

The organisers hope to encourage primary pupils to enjoy a range of sports while trying to gain points towards a medal of their own.

Senior Active Schools coordinator Paul Scott added: “We believe it is important to continue to build a lasting legacy in sport and physical activity participation in the Scottish Borders.

“Over the last eight years since London 2012 we have ran four Passports and all of them have achieved huge success in encouraging more children to be more active, more often.

“We can’t wait to get started and hope our young Borders’ people enjoy the challenge while being healthier, happier and stronger.”

Each P1-to-P3 and P4-to-P7 Passport lists a number of different sports from the Tokyo Olympics.

Pupils can accumulate points by taking part in as many of the sports as possible between Monday, March 2 and the conclusion of the Olympics on Sunday, August 9.

For more information on the Training for Tokyo 2020 Games Passport, visit www.liveborders.org.uk.