SIR - In reply to the letter last week, Parents should set a good example, I would like to also thank the organisers of the Everside six-a-side tournament held a couple of weeks ago.

I agree with a lot of the comments expressed especially about children playing sport to have fun and not having added pressure from parents to do well. However, I am concerned with the comment, "Young people can be quite skillful in disguising malicious intent".

We are talking about children here, aren't we? They honestly believe children go out to play competitive football with malicious intent?

Football is a contact sport and six-a-side especially is fast and furious and there are times when in order to win the ball tackling is involved and therefore, as I have to remind ourselves again, these are children still learning the art of football. There are going to be times when mis-timed tackles are going to occur and when they do, as happens at every level of football, referee should deal with it

I agree with the comments about sportsmanship. I witnessed a final being played on the Saturday morning, a good competitive attacking game from both sides that was marred at the end with some players on the losing side not wanting to shake hands especially with the ref and then a couple of the players being taken home without receiving their runners-up medals. What does that teach them about sportsmanship ?

A lot of the comments apply to every sport going. I'm concerned why they felt the need to write that letter in the first place and I'll put my hands up if I'm wrong but, talking of sportsmanship, would they have put pen to paper if their team had won their section of the tournament. I wonder?

It should be every child's desire to want to win at what ever sport they play. It's when they lose they've got to learn how to handle it - and it applies to the parents as well.

An even more concerned parent, Name and address withheld, Cam