The hunt is on for young people to represent the Vale of White Horse in the Thames Valley Youth Games in Abingdon.

The event will be held on June 1 and, to encourage competitors, free training sessions are being offered in ten sports during the February half-term.

The games are an annual sports festival involving teams of young people from Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire. Last year, they were held in Milton Keynes.

This year Abingdon hosts the games at venues across the area -- Radley College, Tilsley Park, Larkmead School and the new White Horse Leisure and Tennis Centre in Audlett Drive that opens at the end of March.

The sports development team at the Vale District Council is offering free training sessions in athletics, badminton, basketball, cricket, football, rugby, hockey, netball, swimming and tennis.

It is expected that the games will attract 3,500 young people from 16 local authorities in the three counties, and preparations to assemble squads are getting under way.

There will be nearly 200 competitors from the Vale.

Details about training sessions are displayed on posters in schools and a promotional video about the games will be shown at various schools in Abingdon, Wantage and Faringdon.

The Vale's sports development officer Jo Paterson said: "It is an outstanding event for young people and we are looking forward to a big response. Competing in the new leisure and tennis centre is a big draw."