Alsager's Townhouse Nurseries have had their very own taste of 'Euro's fever' after pitting their wits against other nurseries over the last six weeks.

Both of Alsager's Townhouse Nurseries are participating in a 'Euros 2021' competition, which has been organised by Ross Turpin, owner of Playmakers.

Playmakers is an organisation which proudly brings 'a planet full of sports' to capture the imagination of under 5s, through the concept of learning through play.

Nurseries involved in the 'Euros 2021' tournament are representing countries and competing every week against each other by completing lots of physical challenges.

Mr Ross has worked alongside Townhouse Nurseries for eight years and undertakes a sports session with children aged three years and over every Wednesday morning.

Towards the end of the year, Mr Ross organises a Winter Olympics competition, but this summer it was the turn of the 'Euros 2021'.

There are 31 teams in the competition which are primarily from Cheshire East, but there also some nurseries further afield from Warrington and Trafford.

Each week the participating teams have the chance to win points when playing a number of games and activities.

Playmakers' 'Euros 2021' competition which has been played out over a six-week period comes to an end with the final tomorrow (Wednesday, 30th June).

All of the 31 teams will play in the final and then Mr Ross will calculate the overall points scores before announcing the winners in the coming weeks.

However, each nursery has had the opportunity to collect 'bonus points' if they showed evidence of going 'above and beyond'.

In the first week, Alsager's Townhouse families made mini spectators out of cardboard and placed them around the nurseries' gardens, to ensure the children had a crowd watching them.

Alsager's Audley Road nursery has two teams in the competition, 'Mighty Lions', who are representing Italy and 'Roarsome Townhouse Tigers', who are representing Holland.

The Lawton Road nursery has the 'Lawton Leavers', who are representing Belgium and 'Summer Soarers', who are representing Switzerland.

The children have designed and created Italian and Dutch themed t-shirts that they wear just for Playmakers sessions.

At Audley Road, Nursery cook Wendy Pullizzi, has made powershot themed drinks for the two teams, orange/ginger and apple/lemon. They have also done 'feel good' muffins for parents and children who had participated in a morning session.

Last week saw a "highly competitive" parent and child penalty shootout be played out on the Alsager nurseries car parks.

Two staff members are the team's mascots, which are a lion and a tiger. The mascots dressed up in their onesies were the goalkeepers in the penalty shootout.

Alison Fisher, nursery manager at Audley Road, told Nub News: "It was great fun, it got everybody involved."

Alsager's Townhouse Nurseries have a big party planned for the final tomorrow to say thank you to Mr Ross.

Mr Ross said: "Late 2020/21 season always brings a Playmakers indirect competition, the Euros is this year mimicking the real football Euros on TV.

"Defending champions from Townhouse Audley Road are competing in multiple sporting activities, which sees children working together and individually towards gaining points in a bid to winning as many activities as possible.

"The affects and efforts of staff, children, alongside support from parents makes Townhouse such a wonderful place for children to participate and compete for these games.

"Alsager is no stranger to silverware and rightfully so. I have been delivering Playmakers to Townhouse Nurseries for over eight years, and I am chuffed to bits to see how wonderful the departing preschool children each year have progressed with the Playmakers sports program, which develops good people through playing sports and preparing them for school.

"I am wondering are Townhouses 'Roarsome Tigers' or 'Mighty Lions' bringing it home again this year."