Georgie Lee Brophy

TEAM Camden have been bulking up their mighty medal haul in the final weeks of Europe’s largest annual youth multi-sports festival.

The latest edition of the London Youth Games (LYG) comes to a close at the end of this month, and when it does jubilant judoka Georgie Lee Brophy will be among the proud young athletes boasting a gold medal to remember them by.

The teenager, who lives in Kentish Town, won his orange belt competition at the University of East London’s SportsDock complex in emphatic style despite only taking up the martial art just over 12 months ago.

Head coach of Shinbudo Grappling Club, Glenn Spiers, described Georgie as “an inspiration” to his younger club-mates. The 6th-dan black belt added: “I am very proud of Georgie, he is such a credit to our club. He has only been training in judo for just over a year and he has shown remarkable improvement in such a short space of time.

“He is a very dedicated athlete, training regularly in multiple clubs around London. Georgie is an inspiration to our younger club members, who he spends a lot of time with helping them to improve their judo.”

Team Camden’s boys’ basketball squad, from left: Milo Reynolds, Gianni Dolce, Anton Waret, Leon Shabani, Jermaine McQueen, Vaino Niva, Munyarazdi Nyamutenha, Mathew Caltwasser, Oshawney Osbourne and Sebastian John-Watkins

Meanwhile, Camden celebrated hosting the LYG’s squash competition for the first-ever time by scooping silver medals at their home courts in West Hampstead. Sixteen boroughs competed in the Under-17s event at Cumberland Squash Club, with teams consisting of three boys and two girls taking part in a series of challenging matches throughout the day.

Camden, featuring players from University College School (UCS) in Hampstead, successfully navigated their way through the group stages before overcoming Westminster in the quarter-finals and then Kensington & Chelsea in the semis. The final proved another thrilling showdown, with Wandsworth going on to grab gold, while Camden finished as runners-up.

UCS and Cumberland coach Ivy Dieltiens, who took charge of Camden’s squad, said the silver medals were “a fantastic achievement for our borough”, adding: “It was fantastic to see so many London squash juniors participate.”

Meanwhile, Camden’s boys’ basketballers put in a valiant bid to earn a place in the grand finals but came up just short.

Coaches Demetrius Beckford and Elijah Grelet put a squad together following a series of successful open trials, which were held at the Talacre Community Sports Centre in Kentish Town. And that newly-formed Under-16s side more than held their own at the SportsDock in Newham but didn’t quite manage to progress this time around.

Team Camden’s squash players scooped silver medals. From left: Finn Harris, Tara Pattinson, Ethan Wong, Mia Pattinson, Caleb Schafer and Rudy Harris

There are still a whole host of events to be squeezed in before the LYG wraps for another season, including athletics, kayak racing, netball, swimming, table tennis and volleyball.

Team Camden’s manager Ben Dorsett, who works for Camden Council’s Sport and Physical Activity Service, was keen to stress that winning medals was only a small part of the borough’s success in what will have been eight months of fun-filled sporting competition.

“Of course, winning medals is always great, but our main aim ahead of every campaign in the London Youth Games is to give as many young people as possible the chance to represent Camden,” he said.

“The London Youth Games, along with the School Games and the ParaGames, give young athletes a unique opportunity to compete against other young people from across the capital and to have fun meeting new friends.

“This season Camden has also celebrated lots of success behind the scenes. We hosted the London Youth Games trampoline and squash competitions for the first time ever, adding them to the cross-country event that we regularly host on Hampstead Heath at the start of each campaign. We look forward to hosting all three events again next season, which is a massive achievement for the borough.”