DON'T be a couch potato! Get off that sofa and get fit – with some help from a fun roadshow aimed at young people.The Sports Performance Academy Roadshow is staging fun-packed events at sports centres in Ipswich during half-term, all aimed at young people aged from 11 to 16.

DON'T be a couch potato! Get off that sofa and get fit – with some help from a fun roadshow aimed at young people.

The Sports Performance Academy Roadshow is staging fun-packed events at sports centres in Ipswich during half-term, all aimed at young people aged from 11 to 16. And it's all completely free of charge.

Students at Holywells High School have already been given an advance taste of the roadshow, which is being presented in association with Ipswich Borough Council's sports development unit.

It will feature top fitness instructor, Lee Brady, karate champ, Milo Hodge, and the Bootiedance academy of hip hop, with youngsters getting a chance to try out the various moves.

The Evening Star is supporting the roadshow and sponsoring the Champions of the Future competition, a search for the fittest girl and boy in Ipswich, with a £2,000 prize at stake.

"We're expecting around 1,000 young people to come along over the week," said Nino Severino of Sports Performance Academy.

"We want to try and get the kids involved. These days it's easy just to sit on the sofa and not do much, but it's more fun to get fit."

Funding for the roadshow is being provided by the Suffolk Youth Offending Services.

To add to the fun, there will be a free draw with prizes including the chance to taste the luxury life of a sports star by being chauffeur-driven in a Cabriolet Mercedes for a day. The lucky winner will be driven to school in style, then taken out for a meal in the evening.

There is also the chance to win a £300 specialist BMX bike, courtesy of Thomas's Cycle Superstore.

Other prizes include the pair of gloves worn by former Ipswich Town goalkeeper, Richard Wright, in the match against Liverpool last season, and a football signed by the Liverpool squad.

The roadshow will be visiting the following sports centres throughout next week:

Monday, Gainsborough Sports Centre, 4 to 6pm. Tuesday, Maidenhall Sports Centre, 12.30 to 2.30pm. Wednesday, at Whitton Sports Centre from 9.30 to 11.30am. Thursday, at Chantry Sports Centre from 2 to 4pm. Friday, at the YMCA in Wellington Street from 10am to noon.