A poignant sporting competition for disabled children was held in Bury St Edmunds on Friday to commemorate the sixth anniversary since the death of a talented Badwell Ash teenager.
Emma Holloway, 19, who played for AFC Sudbury Ladies and coached disabled children, died in a road accident on the A134 near Bradfield Combust in November, 2010.
Her parents set up the Emma Holloway Foundation in her memory to support disability sport in Suffolk.
The foundation joined forces with charity Panathlon Challenge to stage the West Suffolk Primary Panthlon event, which saw more than 50 children compete in a mini Paralympics event at Emma’s old school, King Edward VI.
Emma’s mother, Julie Parker, said: “I just love these Panathlon events. All of them are special occasions in their own right, but I am particularly proud of this one, as it was held in Emma’s old school and in her hometown. It just makes it that little bit more special.
“It is lovely seeing the little ones take part and the leaders from King Edward VI have interacted so well. The guys always organise everything so well and the children clearly have lots of fun. It is our pleasure to continue supporting Panathlon.
“It was always our aim to bring a Panathlon event to Bury and we would love to support an event in the town every year from now on.”
Six teams from schools in Bury, Stowmarket and Sudbury took part in the multi-sport competition which included games such as parachute popcorn, polybat, precision bean bag, new-age kurling, boccia blast, football skills and table cricket.
A team combining pupils from Sudbury’s St Gregory CEVC Primary School and St Edmunds Catholic Primary were crowned winners.
Julie said the event was a fitting tribute to her daughter, who had a passion for coaching children with disabilities and special educational needs.
“Emma played so many sports, she was one of those people who was good at everything, with her main passion being football,” she said.
“When she was at King Edward’s, she started working with the sports team and visited special needs schools in the area. She would come home and say she wanted to help, as disabled youngsters wouldn’t have the same opportunities, but would love taking part in the activities. That was her aim.
“It was six years yesterday that Emma died, so we have gone from having a tough day yesterday to seeing so much joy on the young faces today. It has made us very proud to know that Emma’s name lives on in this way.”
To find out more about the Emma Holloway Foundation, visit www.emmahollowayfoundation.co.uk
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