Young Hounslow competitors had a week to remember at the Balfour Beatty London Youth Games.
In the under-19 female rugby 7s competition, Hounslow defeated Kensington & Chelsea in a best of three match series at Barn Elms Sports Centre, on Wednesday, March 11 to secure gold.
One interested spectator was England World cup winner Maggie Alphonsi, who once competed in the London Youth Games for Enfield, and she was impressed with what she saw on the day, adding: “Today’s been absolutely fantastic. I think what’s great about today is having a real range of development, so you’ve got your under-sevens playing a bit of tag rugby, through to the under-13 girls, and then you’ve got the senior boys, so it’s been really good day today and the atmosphere has been really thriving and it’s just pleasing to see rugby at its best.”
Gumley House, based in Isleworth, secured a bronze medal in the female schools volleyball competition at UEL Sportsdock, having missed out on a spot in the final after losing to eventual champions Orleans Park, from Richmond. Gumley House rallied to defeat Leytonstone School from Waltham Forest 25-13 in the bronze medal play-off.
John Goalen, who coaches the Gumley House players at club level, was proud of their performance.
He said: “They are not just a nice set of girls, they are actually really dedicated. They are playing volleyball two or three times a week. When I saw all the teams playing I thought they were a bit unlucky to be in the same half of the draw as Orleans. I thought they played really well.”
Volleyball and rugby are two of 31 sports in the 2015 Balfour Beatty London Youth Games. The London Youth Games is Europe’s largest annual youth sports event and is driving the legacy for increased participation in competitive sport for young Londoners.
A record 126,897 young Londoners took part in the record-breaking 2014 Balfour Beatty London Youth Games, taking the event to more than a million participants since it launched in 1977.
