The Club Games, which brings together athletic 60+ year olds, took place on Wednesday, 21st October at the Copper Box Arena in the Olympic Park
A team of 52 senior athletes from Waltham Forest have come second in the 20th annual Better Club Games event in London, beating 22 other teams at the event, called the “Older Persons’ Olympics”.
The Club Games – which brings together athletic 60+ year olds, took place on Wednesday, 21st October at the Copper Box Arena in the Olympic Park. The event was attended by over 1,000 competitors and spectators and hosted by famous singer and presenter Cheryl Baker.
23 teams from Better leisure centres across the UK competed in eleven sports – including timed cycle, walking football, walking netball, pickleball, short mat bowls, badminton, short tennis, table tennis, timed swimming, darts and dominoes – to win the coveted Club Games trophy.
As well as coming second overall, the Waltham Forest team came second in short tennis, third in short mat bowls and third in walking football.
Esther Torres, 62, is a short tennis player. She said: “I play short tennis twice a week as it’s great for my mental health and the people I play with are now like family. The Club Games event was an amazing day and so much fun.”
Daniel Bank, GLL Waltham Forest community sports manager, says: “We know that active ageing helps promote good physical and mental health and also combats social isolation, so it was great to see so many local senior athletes taking part in this year’s Club Games.
“The event is a great opportunity for older people to come together in a friendly environment, play some competitive sport and prove that you are never too old to have some rivalrous fun!”
Nadeem Butt, Waltham Forest Council’s sport and leisure manager added: “The Club Games was an amazing event. It was fantastic to see such a wide variety of people from all different backgrounds competing in a range of sports and enjoying it so much.”
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