London Youth Games 2021
Young people proudly represent Newham in London Youth Games
Newham’s young people were proud to compete for their borough in this year’s London Youth Games – and enjoyed considerable success.
The borough’s team won gold at the East Regional Hub weekend in male beach volleyball, male football, and both female and male street cricket.
The female basketball team secured bronze and joined the male basketball team in receiving the Respect the Game Award. Further accolades went to the female football team, who took home the Spirit of the Game Award.
The London Youth Games, which has been staged annually since its establishment in 1977, was a very welcome change from the national lockdown, and despite the scaling down of the event from 31 sports to 15, it still made for some thrilling competition.
Lisa Brivati, Sports and Activity Officer for activeNewham, said: “That was a fantastic achievement from the girls. They’ve come from a variety of different backgrounds, from different schools, projects, clubs, and today was the first time they’ve actually played together.
“The expectation was just for them to come here to compete and have fun. It’s great they’ve had this positive experience and that will hopefully make them want to continue playing.”
Thirteen-year-old Elaina, who helped Newham’s Street Cricket team to victory, said: “The team performed really well today and it feels great to finish with a gold medal.
“It was really fun being here at the London Youth Games. I like how you get to compete against other teams in a nice environment.”
Husnian, 12, captain for the boy’s cricket team, said, “The team did really well. In the first game we kind of struggled but then we got better and better and our confidence got higher and higher.
“It feels good to win a gold medal. It is fun competing at London Youth Games and getting to represent your borough.”