The four-day programme includes ten sports taking place at some of the region’s premier venues, as well as opening and closing ceremonies, an athletes’ village, simulation doping control and elite athlete role models.

Steve Grainger, chief executive of the Youth Sport Trust - the organisation responsible for the Games – commented: "We are delighted to be in North East England for the fifth Sainsbury’s UK School Games. The start of the Games culminates a year of planning with our partners and I have no doubt that we are going to see some great competition across the four days.”

In essence, the Sainsbury’s UK School Games, which began in 2006 are receiving a £6 million grant from Legacy Trust UK, replicate a major multi-sports event, involving cycling, athletics, badminton, fencing, gymnastics, hockey, judo, swimming, table tennis and volleyball. Thereare also disability events in swimming, athletics and table tennis.

"The multi-sport element is something most competing athletes will be experiencing for the first time,” said Williams (pictured).

"There are a lot of distractions and the pressure may also be higher at this kind of event.

"However, it’s a chance to learn and no doubt they will take a lot away from this fantastic competition. There was nothing like this when I was young, my first event was the World Championships and I just had to learn on the spot, so this is a great opportunity for gaining advice and experience."

Campbell, who acted as a Games Ambassador when they were held in South Wales, expresses the same sentiments about an event which he believes might even have made a difference to Britain’s sprint relay prospects at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics – ie he had had the opportunity to experience it at a younger age.

"This is the closest experience these youngsters are going to get towhat it would be like to take part in major competitions such as the Commonwealth Games or the Olympics," he told insidethegames.

"They all live together in an athletes’ village. There is an opening and a closing ceremony. But the bonus is they all have access to athlete mentors who have been to big championships before and who can give them good advice.

"It’s a great opportunity for 1,600 young people to live together and get the feeling of what it is like to compete at the highest level as athletes.

"At their age, the nearest experience I had to this was competing at English Schools Championships. But it would be a case of staying with the rest of the Greater Manchester athletes and then just going to the stadium.

"At my first Olympics, in Atlanta, I was wandering around the village seeing all these famous athletes and I was not focused on what I needed to do. And I ended up by dropping the baton in the relay."

Campbell may be being a little hard on himself here, although he was certainly involved in the unsuccessful changeover with Darren Braithwaite which put paid to Britain’s hopes of making the sprint relay final.

"If any of these youngsters make the same mistake, here will be the best place in a way to do it," Campbell went on. "Everybody will be forgiving, which will mean mistakes will be easier to forget. Then, hopefully, if that youngster comes to a major championship they will have learned from the experience.

"Really, when you go to the Olympics for the first time, you are a spectator. It’s such a big occasion. The athletes’ village is so vast, with so many people, you see coaches, you see famous athletes. It’s overwhelming.

"There’s a mass food hall, and you are thinking to yourself ‘Should I be here now? Am I eating too much?’ You can be down there talking to people and just picking at food and before you know it you have eaten too much.

"When you have so much time on your hands it’s hard to know how best to use it. Even talking to other athletes or playing in the games room for three or four hours can take up energy. It’s easy to lose sight of what you are there for and what it’s all about. There are so many mistakes you can make.

"Staying focused in that environment can be very difficult. There are a lot of egos around. And because of the competitive nature of the event everyone is on a short fuse."

For most, if not all of the youngsters taking part this weekend, the London 2012 Olympics will be something to follow rather than to
compete in. But Campbell (pictured centre) believes what is taking place in the North-East will be profoundly important for the competitive careers of
the athletes involved.

"These are a new crop of youngsters aged between11-18. Some of them have already had experience of the Youth Olympics, but for most this will be their biggest competition so far.

"A lot has been said about creating a legacy. This is a perfect way to create legacy for young people. They will see the effects in their future careers, at whatever level they continue at, and they will come away with benefits on a personal and educational level too. It’s all about building confidence.

"The Youth Sport Trust sees these Games as a great opportunity to get young people involved in active competition. So far they have got backing for it to run until 2011, but obviously they think it’s such a benefit they want it to run for ever and ever! I’m sure it will create
a lasting legacy for many young people.

"It’s also involving a lot of people on site. There are around 400 volunteers here who are giving up their time to be involved.

"Another nice thing about this event is that, where you have the Olympics and Paralympics run as separate events, here the two sides of the sport take place within the same arenas in the same time frames.

"For example, Ellie Simmonds swam at these Games before going on to win at the Beijing Paralympics. That gives you an idea of the potential calibre of some of the young athletes involved here."

These are the first UK School Games to benefit from Sainsbury’s title sponsorship - and Campbell believes those involved are already feeling a significant benefit.

"Sainsbury’s backing has added a new dimension to the event," he said. "They are looking after the cultural side of things, and educating the youngsters about their nutrition.

"Their CEO, Justin King, came along to watch the last School Games, and as a result they became our new sponsors. It was perfect. Now they have taken the event to the next level."

But the key element as far as Campbell is concerned is the intrinsic one. Competition.

"In the past, people have tried to play down the idea of youngsters competing against each other in schools. But competition is part of life, and this is a great opportunity for a generation of young people to become more confident and competitive. Whether it’s in sport, or business, you will need to be competitive. If you go for a big job, there will be other people who want it too. It’s all about being able to prove that you are the one who is worth giving the job to.

"What you might also find is that some of the athletes taking part who don’t do as well as they would have liked may turn out to be the people who win in the future, because when you are second, third, fourth you want to look at all the ways you can improve. You have the hunger you need to be a winner."

Three or four years down the line, the results of this weekend’s activities in the north-east could reveal some fascinating data…

Mike Rowbottom, one of Britain's most talented sportswriters, has covered the last five Summer and four Winter Olympics for The Independent. Previously he has worked for the Daily Mail, The Times, The Observer, the Sunday Correspondent and The Guardian. He is now chief feature writer for insidethegames