THE skies were alive with both sunshine and showers, as a popular annual Lake District event proved a roaring success for yet another year.

Ambleside Sports 2017 went off without a hitch yesterday (28) despite the best efforts of the weather for a second year running. The day may have started with some heavy rain but, thanks to the show’s loyal following and a few sunny spells, the event once again pulled in visitors in their thousands.

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Jak Hirst, chairman of Ambleside Sports Association, said: “It was a really nice, happy day. A few showers is a bit of a shame but it’s not big deal, you just get on with it. It’s just typical Cumbria!”

Now in its 131st year and still going strong, the annual event celebrates everything special about traditional Lakeland sports. As well as hosting fell and guide races and hound trailing, grass track cycling and track races, the day now includes a host of children’s races for those aged four to 13.

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The real spectacle of the day, and the draw for many tourists who will have never had the chance to see it before, is the Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling. Enthusiasm for the sport is kept alive by dedicated families who pass the techniques and skills involved from generation to generation and through wrestling academies.

But while visitors to the area help contribute to the event’s success, it is the local people who make it what it is. Various community groups come together to help the day run smoothly, with the local rotary club supplying a team of ticket-sellers and the town’s Christmas lights committee helping with the set-up.

In turn, Ambleside Sports Association will make donations to local groups and organisations wherever they can, as well as supplying local sports groups and participators with training kit and equipment.

Mr Hirst, who estimates that somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 people were in attendance this year, said: “The nature of this marvellous event is that it’s completely community-orientated. It’s entirely volunteer-run and we involve the community every step of the way.

“I think, when people see the way what we do feeds back into the local area, they want to be involved all the more.”