Visitors to the Sports Fest were joined by three-time Paralympic club throw champion Stephen Miller from Northumberland, as well as reigning European wheelchair racing champion Jade Jones from Middlesbrough, and London 2012 fencer Gemma Collis, who lives in Durham. 

The trio were on hand to give tips and advice and also speak about their experiences of competing on the big stage, as participants sampled 17 different sports from archery to wheelchair tennis. 

"It's been great being part of the event and seeing so many people of all different ages coming along to just try out new things and discover what sport has to offer them," said Miller, winner of gold medals in the F32/51 event at Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004, and who competed at five Paralympic Games in all.

"Hopefully some of the people here today will go away with a new found confidence to go out and find what opportunities there are in their local area, perhaps having found a completely new sport that they enjoy."

Stephen Miller, a three-time Paralympic club throw champion, attended the Sports Fest ©Getty Images






Collis, a two-time Fencing World Cup bronze medallist, added: "A lot of people here today were trying wheelchair fencing for the first time, but it's been great to see people here of all ages getting stuck in and giving it a go.

"People have been encouraged to explore what sports they enjoy and I think it's really positive that events give people the chance to try new things and not feel too self-conscious about it.

"Although I love competing, this is one of those cases where it really is about just taking part."

The first Sports Fest was held in Guildford in December 2012 as a way to "capture the enthusiasm and inspiration from London 2012", with more than 2,500 people having attended one of the many events.

"Today has been absolutely fantastic and I'm delighted to see that this event has been so well received here in the North East," said Tim Hollingsworth, chief executive of the British Paralympic Association.

"As an organisation, we are really passionate that the momentum from the London 2012 Paralympic Games continues to build and the incredible turn out today suggests that it is continuing to develop as we look towards Rio 2016.

"I hope that the people here today will keep the enthusiasm that they've shown to carry on enjoying Paralympic sport and you never know, we may have also discovered more sporting talent here in the North East."

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