London Youth Games Explained

Established:	1977
Participants:	Est. 1.5m to date (2020)
Venue:	Crystal Palace National Sports Centre and others
Sponsor:	Nike

The London Youth Games is an annual multi-sport event held in London, England. The London Youth Games offer competitive opportunities for young people aged 7 to 18 (who live or go to school in London) across approximately 30 sports every year. The London Youth Games are contested between the 32 London boroughs (as well as the City of London) and take place at venues across the capital nine months of the year.

The focal point is finals weekend at the National Sports Centre in Crystal Palace, which traditionally takes place on the first weekend in July. But there are around 50 events that take place annually including qualifying rounds and stand alone finals at venues as prestigious as Lord's, Copper Box Arena and Hampstead Heath. The London Youth Games is free and open to all young people living in or going to school in London.

Notable past participants include four-times Olympic gold medallist Mo Farah, Premier League and England Footballer Raheem Sterling and World and European sprinting gold medallist Dina Asher-Smith.

The London Youth Games is funded mainly via commercial support from headline sponsor Nike, membership contributions from each of the London local authorities and Sport England National Lottery support. The London Youth Games are organised and managed by the London Youth Games Foundation, which is a registered charity (1048705)., representatives from the London boroughs and a number of independent trustees who make up the board of trustees.

The London Youth Games are delivered by a small team of full-time staff, Borough Team Organisers (BTO's) from London's local authorities, School Games Organisers (SGOs), representatives of Sporting National Governing Bodies (NGBs) and around 4,000 volunteers from the London Youth Games volunteering programme GamesForce.

History

2000–2009

A four-day national Youth Games final of the winning teams from all 43 Area Youth Games in the UK took place in Southampton in August 2000. London sent two squads to represent the city at 'The BAA Millennium Youth Games' in the 12 sports competitions.

2010–2019

The London Youth Games was well represented at London 2012 with 44 former participants competing in the 2012 Olympics and 2012 Paralympics.

2020-present

Sports

The London Youth Games has consisted of multiple sports since its inception. Below is a list of sports that have been included in the London Youth Games at any time since 1977. Those in italics were part of the inaugural London Youth Games in 1977 and those in bold are part of the London Youth Games as of 2020:

• Angling
• Archery
• Aquatic sports
  • Diving
  • Swimming
  • Water polo
• Athletics
  • Cross country
  • Track and field
• Badminton
• Basketball
• Boccia
• Canoeing
  • Polo
  • Sprint
  • Slalom
• Cricket
  • Indoor cricket
• Cycling
  • Road
  • BMX
• Curling
  • New Age Kurling
• Dance
• Darts
• Dragon boat
• Equestrian sports
  • Showjumping
• Fencing
• Football
• Golf
  • Tri Golf
• Gymnastics
  • Artistic gymnastics
  • Trampolining
• Handball
• Hockey
• Judo
• Karate
• Netball
  • High 5 Netball
• NFL
• Rowing
  • Indoor rowing
• Rugby union
• RUGBY LEAGUE
  • Rugby sevens
  • Tag rugby
• Sailing
• Skiing
• Squash
• Table tennis
• Tennis
• Triathlon
  • Aquathlon
• Volleyball
• Weightlifting

The Jubilee Trophy and Schools Shield

Every year since its launch in 1977, the Jubilee Trophy has been presented to the overall winning borough and, since 2012, to the winning borough in the Open Games programme. The School Games is scored separately and the overall winning borough in the schools competition is awarded the Schools Shield. Havering are the most successful borough in the history of the London Youth Games.

Previous Winners

Year	Jubilee trophy	Other trophies (only shown where awarded)
1977	Havering	-|-|1978|Not contested|-|-|1979|Havering|-
1980	Havering	-|-|1981|Havering|-
1982	Waltham Forest	-|-|1983|Havering|-
1984	Havering	-|-|1985|Croydon|-|-|1986|Bromley|-|-|1987|Waltham Forest|Inner London borough trophy – Southwark|-|1988|Bromley|Inner London borough trophy – Southwark|-|1989|Enfield|Inner London borough trophy – Islington|-|1990|Redbridge|Inner London borough trophy – Islington|-|1991|Bromley|Inner London borough trophy – Islington|-|1992|Redbridge|Inner London borough trophy – Wandsworth|-|1993|Redbridge|Inner London borough trophy – Wandsworth|-|1994|Croydon|Inner London borough trophy – Wandsworth|-|1995|Havering|Inner London borough trophy – Wandsworth|-|1996|Redbridge|Inner London borough trophy – Lewisham|-|1997|Havering|Inner London borough trophy – Greenwich|-|1998|Havering|Inner London borough trophy – Greenwich|-|1999|Havering|Inner London borough trophy – Southwark|-|2000|Havering|Inner London borough trophy – Greenwich|-|2001|Havering|Inner London borough trophy – Southwark|-|2002|Havering|Inner London borough trophy – Wandsworth|-|2003|Bexley|Inner London borough trophy – Southwark|-|2004|Havering|Disability trophy – Southwark Inner London borough trophy – Southwark Most improved borough – Greenwich Rick Grice Fair Play trophy – Bexley|-|2005|Redbridge|Disability trophy – Lewisham Inner London borough trophy – Southwark Most improved borough – Barnet|-|2006|Havering|Disability trophy – Lewisham Inner London borough trophy – Lewisham Most improved borough – Hounslow Rick Grice Fair Play trophy – Merton|-|2007|Bromley|Disability trophy – Lewisham Inner London borough trophy – Wandsworth Most improved borough – Tower Hamlets|-|2008|Bromley|Disability trophy – Lewisham Inner London borough trophy – Lewisham Most improved borough – Kensington & Chelsea|-|2009|Havering|Disability trophy – Wandsworth Inner London borough trophy – Wandsworth Most improved borough – Richmond Rick Grice Fair Play trophy – Westminster Thames Water Regatta – Richmond|-|2010|Bromley|Disability trophy – Croydon Inner London borough trophy – Wandsworth Most improved borough – Southwark Rick Grice Fair Play trophy – Barking & Dagenham Thames Water Regatta – Richmond|-|2011|Richmond|Disability trophy – Lewisham Most improved borough – Lewisham Thames Water Regatta – Richmond|-|2012|Croydon|Disability trophy – Croydon Inner London borough trophy – Wandsworth Most improved borough – Sutton Schools Shield – Hounslow Thames Water Regatta – Kensington & Chelsea|-|2013|Wandsworth|Disability trophy – Croydon Inner London borough trophy – Wandsworth Most improved borough – Haringey Schools Shield – Wandsworth Thames Water Regatta – Richmond |-|2014|Wandsworth|ParaGames trophy – Croydon Inner London borough trophy – Wandsworth Most improved borough – Schools Shield – Haringey Thames Water Regatta – Richmond |-|2015|Wandsworth|ParaGames trophy – Inner London borough trophy – Wandsworth Most improved borough – Schools Shield – Haringey Thames Water Regatta – Richmond |-|2016|Bromley|ParaGames trophy – Inner London borough trophy – Most improved borough – Schools Shield – Regatta – Richmond |-|2017|Bromley|ParaGames trophy – Inner London borough trophy – Most improved borough – Schools Shield – Regatta – Richmond |-|2018|Bromley|ParaGames trophy – Inner London borough trophy – Most improved borough – Schools Shield – Regatta – Richmond |-|2019|Bromley|ParaGames trophy – Croydon Inner London borough trophy – Wandsworth Most improved borough – Waltham Forest Schools Shield – Regatta – Tower Hamlets Respect the Games Trophy - Redbridge |-|2020|Not contested|ParaGames trophy – Not contested Inner London borough trophy – Not contested Most improved borough – Not contested Schools Shield – Not Contested Regatta – Not contested Virtual Games - London Borough of Camden|} Jubilee Trophy wins by borough Wins Country Years 16 Havering 1977, 1979–81, 1983, 1984, 1995, 1997–2002, 2004, 2006, 2009 10 Bromley 1986, 1988, 1991, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2016-2019 5 Redbridge 1990, 1992, 1993, 1996, 2005 3 Croydon 1985, 1994, 2012 3 Wandsworth 2013-2015 2 Waltham Forest 1982, 1987 1 Enfield 1989 Bexley 2003 Richmond 2011 Event Winners Athletics Year Borough 2003 Bromley 2004 Bromley 2005 Bromley 2006 Bromley 2007 Lewisham Year Male Female 2008 Waltham Forest Barking and Dagenham 2009 Havering Bromley 2010 Enfield Bromley 2011 Enfield Bromley 2012 Southwark Bromley 2013 Tower Hamlets Bromley 2014 Southwark Bromley 2015 Wandsworth Havering Angling Year Borough 2003 Croydon 2004 Hillingdon 2005 Sutton 2006 Croydon 2007 Waltham Forest 2008 Croydon 2009 Enfield 2010 Enfield 2011 Croydon 2012 Enfield 2013 Croydon 2014 Croydon 2015 Greenwich Archery Year Borough 2003 Ealing 2004 Redbridge 2005 Redbridge 2006 Redbridge 2007 Redbridge 2008 Redbridge 2009 Kingston 2010 Redbridge 2011 Richmond 2012 Redbridge 2013 Redbridge 2014 Hillingdon 2015 Hammersmith & Fulham Badminton Year Borough 2003 Bromley 2004 Harrow 2005 Bromley 2006 Bromley 2007 Redbridge 2008 Haringey 2009 Redbridge 2010 Harrow 2011 Merton 2012 Redbridge 2013 Redbridge 2014 Redbridge 2015 Sutton Basketball Year Male Female 2003 Hackney Haringey 2004 Hackney Haringey 2005 Hackney Haringey 2006 Hackney Haringey 2007 Barnet Haringey 2008 Haringey Haringey 2009 Haringey Haringey 2010 Hounslow Haringey 2011 Lewisham Southwark 2012 Lambeth Southwark 2013 Haringey Southwark 2014 Barking & Dagenham Newham 2015 Harrow Southwark Boccia Year Borough 2005 Croydon 2006 Southwark 2007 Waltham Forest 2008 Wandsworth 2009 Merton 2010 Croydon 2011 Lewisham 2012 Enfield 2013 Lewisham 2014 Lewisham 2015 Croydon Canoeing Year Borough 2003 Islington 2004 Islington 2005 Islington 2006 TBC 2007 Westminster 2009 Sutton Cricket Year Male Female 2002 Brent Male winner 2003 Richmond Harrow 2004 Redbridge Ealing 2005 TBC TBC 2006 Harrow Redbridge 2007 Ealing Bromley 2008 Harrow Merton 2009 Tower Hamlets Redbridge 2010 Redbridge Bexley 2011 Harrow Barnet 2012 Redbridge Hammersmith & Fulham 2013 Harrow Hammersmith & Fulham 2014 Redbridge Wandsworth 2015 Harrow Bromley Cycling (Road) Year Borough 2003 Hillingdon 2004 Hillingdon 2005 Redbridge 2006 Redbridge 2007 Redbridge 2008 Hillingdon 2009 Hackney 2010 Hackney 2011 Richmond 2012 Richmond 2013 Richmond 2014 Richmond 2015 Hackney Cycling (BMX) Year Borough 2013 Hounslow 2014 Southwark 2015 Hackney Diving Year Borough 2003 Havering 2004 Havering 2005 Havering 2006 Havering 2007 Havering 2008 Havering 2009 Bromley 2010 Bromley 2011 Bromley 2012 Croydon 2013 Croydon 2014 Croydon 2015 Bromley Fencing Year Borough 2003 Havering 2004 Enfield 2005 Bromley 2006 Kensington & Chelsea 2007 Newham 2008 Newham 2009 = BarnetEnfield Newham 2010 Newham 2011 Newham 2012 Newham 2013 EnfieldNewham 2014 Ealing 2015 Kensington and Chelsea Football Year Male Female 2003 Lewisham Waltham Forest 2004 Newham Wandsworth 2005 Brent Southwark 2006 Redbridge Southwark 2007 Greenwich Hillingdon 2008 Newham Lewisham 2009 Brent Lambeth 2010 Southwark Haringey 2011 Lewisham Bexley 2012 Enfield Tower Hamlets 2013 St Michael and St Martins Bromley 2014 Lewisham Waltham Forest 2015 Bexley Wandsworth Gymnastics (Floor and Vault/Artistic) Year Male Female 2003 Camden Bexley 2004 Southwark (F & V) Hillingdon (F & V) 2005 Southwark Hillingdon 2006 Southwark (F & V)Harrow (Artistic) Hillingdon (F & V)Bexley (Artistic) 2007 Southwark (F & V)Harrow (artistic) Sutton (F & V)Bexley (Artistic) 2008 Bexley (F & V) Harrow (artistic) Sutton (F & V) Bexley (artistic) 2009 Southwark (F & V)Harrow (Artistic) Kensington & Chelsea (F & V)Bexley (Artistic) 2010 Southwark (F & V)Kingston (Artistic) Sutton (F & V)Bexley (Artistic) 2011 Croydon (F & V)Kingston (Artistic) Lewisham (F & V)Bexley (Artistic) 2012 Southwark (F & V) Sutton (F & V) Hockey Year Male Female Croydon 2003 Bromley Havering 2004 Kingston Bromley 2005 Bromley Southwark 2006 Bromley Havering 2007 Bromley Southwark 2008 Bromley Southwark 2009 Bromley Richmond 2010 Havering Richmond 2011 Kingston Wandsworth 2012 Redbridge Wandsworth 2013 Haringey Wandsworth 2014 Wandsworth Wandsworth 2015 Southwark Harrow Judo Year Male Female 2003 Brent Brent 2004 Brent Brent 2005 Brent Redbridge 2006 Hammersmith and Fulham Redbridge 2007 Bromley Barking & Dagenham 2008 Sutton Southwark 2009 Richmond Sutton 2010 Wandsworth Sutton 2011 Wandsworth Sutton 2012 Wandsworth Greenwich 2013 Wandsworth Sutton 2014 Wandsworth Greenwich 2015 Wandsworth Sutton 2016 Wandsworth Karate Year Male Female 2008 Havering Havering 2009 Redbridge Havering Kayak Sprint Year Borough 2009 Richmond 2010 Richmond 2011 Richmond 2012 Kensington & Chelsea 2013 Richmond 2014 Richmond 2015 Richmond 2016 Hammersmith & Fulham Kayak Slalom Year Borough 2008 Kensington & Chelsea 2009 Islington 2010 Kensington & Chelsea 2011 Kensington & Chelsea 2012 Tower Hamlets 2013 Kensington & Chelsea 2014 Kensington & Chelsea 2015 Richmond Netball Year Borough 2003 Havering 2004 Havering 2005 Barking & Dagenham 2006 Redbridge 2007 Barking & Dagenham 2008 Redbridge 2009 Redbridge 2010 Redbridge 2011 Havering 2012 Havering 2013 Redbridge 2014 Redbridge 2015 Redbridge ParaGames Athletics Year Male Female 2003 Croydon Croydon 2004 Haringey Bexley 2005 Lewisham Bexley 2006 Lewisham Croydon 2007 Lewisham Bexley 2008 Enfield Barking & Dagenham 2009 Croydon Enfield 2010 Croydon Croydon 2011 Croydon Croydon 2012 Croydon Croydon 2013 Croydon Croydon 2014 Croydon Croydon 2015 Lewisham Newham ParaGames Football Year Male Female 2003 Lambeth Bromley 2004 Greenwich Greenwich 2005 Newham Lewisham 2006 Newham Hammersmith & Fulham 2007 Lewisham Bexley 2008 Newham N/A 2009 Lambeth Bromley 2010 Southwark Bromley 2011 Newham Bexley 2012 Lambeth Bromley 2013 Hammersmith & Fulham Bromley 2014 Greenwich Ealing ParaGames Swimming Year Male Female 2003 Croydon Bexley 2004 Sutton Sutton 2005 Croydon Lewisham 2006 Lewisham Croydon 2007 Sutton Lewisham 2008 Sutton Lewisham 2009 Sutton Sutton 2010 Enfield Croydon 2011 Sutton Sutton 2012 Sutton Croydon 2013 Croydon Croydon 2014 Croydon Croydon 2015 Croydon Croydon Swimming Year Male Female 2003 Bromley Bromley 2004 Richmond Bromley 2005 Lewisham Bromley 2006 Lewisham Lewisham 2007 Havering Bromley 2008 Sutton Bromley 2009 Hillingdon Bromley 2010 Croydon Hillingdon 2011 Croydon Hillingdon 2012 Ealing Hillingdon 2013 Croydon Hillingdon 2014 Bromley Croydon 2015 Bromley Richmond Table Tennis Year Male Female 2003 Kingston Kingston 2004 Enfield Kingston 2005 Wandsworth Enfield 2006 Wandsworth Enfield 2007 Ealing Brent 2008 Tower Hamlets Brent 2009 Ealing Tower Hamlets 2010 Ealing Tower Hamlets 2011 Enfield Westminster 2012 Wandsworth Enfield 2013 Southwark Hackney 2014 Sutton Hackney 2015 Croydon Brent Tennis (Team) Year Borough 2003 Havering 2004 Bromley 2005 Croydon 2006 Redbridge 2007 Sutton 2008 Sutton 2009 Bromley 2010 Bromley 2011 Havering 2012 Havering 2013 Bromley 2014 Croydon 2015 Wandsworth Trampolining Year Borough 2003 Waltham Forest 2004 Enfield 2005 Enfield 2006 Kingston 2007 Bromley 2008 Havering 2009 Bromley 2010 Bromley 2011 Kingston 2012 Bromley 2013 Havering 2014 Hillingdon 2015 Hillingdon Triathlon/Aquathon Year Borough 2003 Waltham Forest 2004 TBC 2005 Enfield 2006 Havering 2007 Havering 2008 Havering 2009 Havering 2010 Havering 2011 Richmond 2012 Enfield 2013 Bromley 2014 Enfield 2015 Enfield Volleyball Year Male Female 2003 Havering Havering 2004 Wandsworth Havering 2005 Wandsworth Havering 2006 Wandsworth Wandsworth 2007 Redbridge Wandsworth 2008 Redbridge Wandsworth 2009 Wandsworth Havering 2010 Wandsworth Croydon 2011 Wandsworth Wandsworth 2012 Croydon Wandsworth 2013 Wandsworth Wandsworth 2014 Wandsworth Wandsworth 2015 Wandsworth Wandsworth Weightlifting Year Borough 2001 Ealing 2002 Hounslow 2003 EnfieldHounslow 2004 EnfieldHounslow 2005 Enfield 2006 Bexley 2007 Bexley 2008 Bexley 2009 Bexley 2010 Bexley Hackney 2011 Hackney 2012 Hackney 2013 HillingdonEaling 2014 Hillingdon 2015 EalingHillingdon Notable participants The London Youth Games has been a stepping stone in the careers of many of the UK's most successful sportsmen and sportswomen, plus some who have succeeding outside of competitive sport. Below is a list of notable personalities who have represented their borough at London Youth Games. Athletics Jackie Agyepong, Dina Asher-Smith, Steve Backley, Jack Binstead, Julia Bleasdale, Abdul Buhari, Linford Christie, Tasha Danvers, Monique Davis, Tyrone Edgar, Mo Farah, Jo Fenn, Rikki Fifton, Dalton Grant, Desiree Henry, John Herbert, JJ Jegede, Jade Johnson, Jeanette Kwakye, Joice Maduaka, Daryll Neita, Christine Ohuruogu, Tosin Oke, Samson Oni, Scott Overall, Abi Oyepitan, Asha Philip, Kyle Powell, John Regis, Sabrina Sinha, Laura Turner, David Weir, Benedict Whitby, Conrad Williams, Nadia Williams Badminton Aamir Ghaffar, Rajiv Ouseph, Charlene White Basketball Ogo Adegboye, Matthew Bryan-Amaning, Steve Bucknall, Arek Deng, Ajou Deng, Luol Deng, Temi Fagbenle, Rosalee Mason, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Azania Stewart, Andrew Sullivan Cricket Rory Hamilton-Brown, Susie Rowe Cycling Erick Rowsell, Tao Geoghegan Hart Jo Rowsell, Bradley Wiggins Diving Tony Ally, Blake Aldridge, Peter Waterfield Fencing James-Andrew Davis, Richard Kruse, Soji Aiyenuro, Curtis Miller, Laurence Halstead Football Chris Bart-Williams, Siobhan Chamberlain, Ashley Cole, Dickson Etuhu, Gavin Hoyte, Jordon Ibe, Justin Hoyte, Ledley King, Eartha Pond, Claire Rafferty, Jadon Sancho Lianne Sanderson, Alex Scott, Danny Shittu, Marvin Sordell, Raheem Sterling, Casey Stoney, Fara Williams, Rachel Yankey Gymnastics Chris Bower, Rio Ferdinand, Warren Russell of Diversity (dance troupe) Hockey Sophie Bray, Darren Cheesman, Dan Shingles Judo Victoria Dunn, Gemma Gibbons, Karina Bryant, Winston Gordon, Michelle Holt, Ashley McKenzie, Nekoda Smythe-Davis Kayak / Canoe Lizzie Broughton, Leanne Brown, Richard Hounslow, Stelian Naftanaila, Lucy Ormorod, Marthe de Ferrer Karate Rachel Newey Netball Kadeem Corbin, Sasha Corbin, Amanda Newton Rugby Maggie Alphonsi, Abi Chamberlain, Helen Clayton, Louise Horgan, Katy Storie, Topsy Ojo Rowing Tom Aggar, Ryan Chamberlain, Mark Hunter, Naomi Riches Skiing Chemmy Alcott, Aaron Tipping Squash Paul Johnson, Dominique Lloyd-Walter, Alison Waters Swimming Elaine Barrett, Ellen Gandy, Dervis Konuralp, Zara Long, Amy Marren, Craig Moate Table Tennis Darius Knight Tennis Anne Keothavong Triathlon Tim Don, Stuart Hayes, Jodie Swallow Volleyball Dami Bakare, Peter Bakare, Lucy Boulton, Natasha Brewer, Lizzie Reid, Darius Setsoafia, Yasser Slitti, Nikki Strachan Weightlifting Joanne Calvino, Darren Holloway, Jack Oliver, Zoe Smith, Emily Godley, Mercy Brown Other Hall of Fame See main article: London Youth Games Hall of Fame. The London Youth Games Hall of Fame was established in 2009. It is made up of former competitors who have progressed from the London Youth Games to the world stage. Former 100m champion Linford Christie (Hammersmith and Fulham), 400m champion Christine Ohuruogu (Newham), javelin thrower Steve Backley (Bexley), Chicago Bulls and GB basketball captain Luol Deng (Croydon), rower Mark Hunter (Havering) and Paralympic swimmer Dervis Konuralp (Greenwich) were the first Hall of Fame inductees in 2009 at a prestigious ceremony at Battersea. From 2010 to 2012, the Hall of Fame evening moved to Lord's Cricket Ground. In 2010, the inductees were 400m hurdler Tasha Danvers (Lambeth and Croydon), long-distance runner Mo Farah (Hounslow), England footballer Rio Ferdinand (Southwark), netball player Amanda Newton (Newham), Paralympic athlete David Weir (Sutton) and cyclist Bradley Wiggins (Camden). The third group of inductees in 2011 were skier Chemmy Alcott (Richmond), Paralympic swimmer Elaine Barrett (Hackney), triathlete Tim Don (Hounslow), high jumper Dalton Grant (Hackney), squash player Paul Johnson (Greenwich), and footballer Rachel Yankey (Brent). In 2012 the inductees were cyclist Joanna Rowsell (Sutton), Paralympic rower Naomi Riches (Harrow), judo star Gemma Gibbons (Greenwich), canoeist Richard Hounslow (Harrow), England rugby star Maggie Alphonsi (Enfield) and world champion track star John Regis (Lewisham). The Hall of Fame evening moved on to BAFTA for 2013 and London 2012 judo bronze medallist Karina Bryant (Kingston), England and Arsenal footballer Alex Scott (Tower Hamlets), fencer Richard Kruse (Barnet), Olympic silver medallist diver Peter Waterfield (Waltham Forest) were all inducted, as well as Darren Hall (Waltham Forest), who is considered by many as the best-ever British badminton player. At the 2014 Hall of Fame evening, Madame Tussauds played host to the evening and the inductees were basketball trailblazer Steve Bucknall, weightlifting champion Zoe Smith and World Champion swimmer Craig Moate. In 2015, the Hall of Fame moved to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, and England footballers Siobhan Chamberlain and Lianne Sanderson were among the inductees. External links Official website Facebook page Twitter page YouTube channel