THE inaugural Weymouth FC Youth Tournament has been hailed as a great success both by the teams that took part and the event's organisers.

In excess of 100 teams and nearly 1,000 children took part in the two-day extravaganza at the Marsh, which will now become an annual occasion.

Visitors from places such as Solihull, Middlesex, Trowbridge, Heavitree and Wincanton battled against teams from all across Dorset for the many trophies on offer, and there was also a guest appearance from Olympic gold medalist sprinter Darren Campbell.

The Weymouth FC Youth president, who brought some of his medals with him, was the centre of attention on day two with hundreds of children and adults taking the opportunity to get the former Terra to sign autographs and have his photo taken with them.

There was also success for the host club, who won the under-11 and under-16 boys competitions as well as finishing runners-up in the under-9 and under-10 boys.

Club chairman Malcolm Curtis and chief executive Gary Calder were also present and they were very impressed with the standard of football and competition on display.

Terras youth development officer Tim Davis said: "I would like to take this opportunity to thank a number of people without whom we would not have managed to run such a great tournament.

"Firstly, the sponsors Dek, Weymouth & Portland Housing, Condor Ferries, The WindowMan, Cape Industrial Services, Easy PC's, Dave Higson and Matthew McGowan.

"And secondly, Andy at Whitefield Printing Services, Dan at Event Catering, Weymouth, the scouts for the loan of their tents and equipment, R&B Trophies, DE Photo, Weymouth Sports Centre's groundsmen, St John Ambulance, the referees and all the Weymouth FC Youth committee and volunteers for their assistance.

"Planning is already well underway for next year's event which we hope will be even bigger and better with several exciting ideas in the pipeline which should establish this tournament as the one to be in."

All profits from the tournament will be used to either make it cheaper for existing Weymouth FC Youth players to play next season or to further develop the youth structure to give more local children the opportunity to take part in the sport.