Half Term with London Youth Sports – Engaging with over 160 young people across London
28 February 2023
This February Half Term, the London Youth sports team was busy engaging with over 160 young people across London. This time, we decided to change things up by delivering our first Basketball Competition. Basketball has seen a large increase in popularity – it has been reported that basketball is now the second most team sport played amongst teenagers. Young people are playing and developing their skills in local courts across London, so we wanted to offer young ballers the chance to come and compete in a 3X3 Basketball tournament.
In addition to this, February has been a month with focus on mental health – with #ChildrenMentalHealthWeek and #GreatMentalHealthDay. We know that with the impact of the pandemic and cost of living crisis, young people’s mental health is suffering as a result. This is why we see importance in helping young people help young people – whether it’s themselves, a friend, or a colleague.
3×3 Basketball Tournament
On Friday 17th, we hosted our very first 3×3 Basketball Festival in partnership with the London Basketball Association and the Jack Petchey Foundation. We had a total of 91 young people from 14 different organisations across London come together to ball out at St. Augustine’s Sports Centre.
Teams competed in a round robin group stage, with the top two teams from each group progressing to the final. There was some amazing talent on display – fair to say British Basketball is on the rise. The atmosphere and energy during the day was great, with the young people embracing their competitive side.
We asked Carl, London Youth Sports Development Officer: What did you want the young people to leave the event thinking? He responded: “That they’ve had fun, they’ve met a new person they wouldn’t have met before and are eager to come back and do more.”
76% of young people reported that their team working skills improved at the event, 89% reported that they spoke to someone new, and 84% felt happier after the event.
“I enjoyed it so much as it was my first basketball competition and everyone I met was so friendly felt so welcoming hope they will be more.”
88% of youth workers rated the event 7/10 or higher, highlighting the organisation and energy of event. Tony, founder of the London Basketball Association said:
“Today has really shown us the power of what collaboration can do. If you go in that room, it’s been full! There’s been a lot of activity and energy, and we wouldn’t want it any other way. It’s about instilling these moments of confidence in [the young people].”
Congratulations to BigKid Foundation for winning the U15 Boys Competition, Salmon Youth Centre taking first place in the U19 Boy’s Competition, and 0-Ten winning the U15 Girl’s Competition. And a huge thank you to St. Augustine’s Sports Centre for hosting, and to McGee for £100 to spend on code of conduct and event prizes!
During the Easter holidays, we will be hosting two events:
- Football Festival on Thursday 6th April, 10:30am – 4:00pm at Coram’s Fields, King’s Cross. Find out more about our Football Festival
- Netball Festival in partnership with Essex Open Netball Club, on Wednesday 12th April, 11:00am – 4:00pm, at Frenford Clubs, Redbridge. Find out more about our Netball Festival
If you are interested, please click on the links above to sign up or if you have any questions or issues, contact Carl on carl.reid@londonyouth.org.
Youth Mental Health First Aid Week
As part of our Youth Mental Health First Aid week, in partnership with StreetGames and the Jack Petchey Foundation, we were in Redbridge, Lambeth, Bromley, Waltham Forest and Westminster, delivering the Youth Mental Health Awareness course to 71 young people: 42 young men and 29 young women.
Each young person had the opportunity to explore some of the common mental health issues affecting young people, including depression, anxiety, eating disorders and psychosis. They developed different skills to work more effectively with young people living with mental health issues; identifying different ways to support young people with a mental health issue and relate to their experiences.
75% of young people felt they gained new knowledge and 71% intend to apply what they learnt back in their community.
Young people shared how informative and engaging the session was and appreciated the opportunity to work and discuss in groups. They left the workshop more aware and knowledgeable on how to help someone who is struggling with their mental health, and themselves. Each young person also received a manual to keep and refer to in the future.
“I’ve learned how to help/support and identify mental health issues and for my personal use it will help me when it comes to my boxers and identifying when something is wrong.”
Many thanks to our member organisations who hosted and provided food for each session: Ekota Academy in Redbridge, St. Matthew’s Project in Lambeth, Bromley Children and Families Forum in Bromley, Project Zero in Waltham Forest, and Avenues Youth Project in Westminster.
We will be delivering another wellbeing training in partnership with Haptivate: Wellbeing for you, wellbeing for your practice. This is an online workshop and will be taking place on Tuesday 7th March 1-3pm and Thursday 23rd March, 10am-12pm. If you are interested, please click on the links for more information and to sign up.
– Radhika Kalia, Sports Programmes Officer
