IT WILL be the taking part that's important, not the winning, for the hundreds of local children preparing to compete in the sixth Hampshire Youth Games over the next couple of days.

About 1,900 kids from all over the county will take part in one of the biggest sporting events in the country.

And this year there's a new addition to the timetable.

The BAA Southampton Airport Youth Games is joined this year by the Parallel Youth Games, a sporting event dedicated to people with learning and physical disabilities - a timely arrival as 2003 is the European Year of Disability.

Both events are co-ordinated by Hampshire County Council in partnership with BAA Southamp-ton Airport, Sport England and the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Sports Partnership.

In all, 13 local authorities are included in the events, giving young people the rare chance to compete with young sports stars from other areas of the county.

At the Hampshire Youth Games, which are taking place at the Aldershot Military Sports Facilities and the Wavell Cody School in Farnborough on Saturday, kids aged 9-14 will compete in 11 different sports.

They are athletics, badminton, basketball, football, hockey, netball, rugby, squash, swimming, table tennis and tennis.

Tomorrow, the Parallel Games will see 250 young people with learning or physical disabilities competing in athletics, football and basketball at the Aldershot Military Sports Facilities.

Last year's chief guest, athlete Iwan Thomas, has praised the games.

"I didn't start running seriously until I was 17 or 18 and there weren't many events like this around," he said. "It's good to see youngsters being competitive. It's here that the dream starts.

"My message to all the kids would be enjoy it and to train hard if they want to get to the top.

"If they don't, there are loads of Americans who will!"

Hampshire County Council's Executive Member for Recreation and Heritage, Councillor John Waddington, said: "The Hamp-shire Youth Games has proved a very successful way of giving young people from across the county the opportunity to compete with others.

"We aim to ensure that everyone in Hampshire has the opportunity to take part in high quality sports competitions.

"With this in mind, we have been able to build on the success of the games to introduce the Parallel Games.

"We hope that everyone will enjoy taking part.

"We thank BAA Southampton Airport once again for supporting these events which provide such great opportunities for so many young people in the county."

The following local authorities are involved in the organisation of the two events - Southampton City Council, Eastleigh Council, Test Valley Council, Havant Council, Isle of Wight Council, Rushmoor Council, Fareham Council, Gosport Council, Portsmouth City Council, New Forest District Council, East Hampshire District Council, Basingstoke and Deane Council.

Over 400 volunteers will help ensure the events run smoothly.