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Boult at the London Youth Games
This week, members of Boult’s team took part in volunteering at the London Youth Games.
The London Youth Games is a nine-month season of events, comprising school and community competitions across 30 sports with 90 disciplines. The Games are open to schools across London, with the aim of improving community and promoting physical, emotional and mental wellbeing through the medium of sport. They aspire to being the largest and most inclusive city-based youth games in the world. The charity provides opportunities to over 160,000 young people per year and caters to young people aged between 7 to 18 years old across all boroughs of London.
The Games incorporate a range of sporting events held throughout the year in the capital. There are “hub” events, featuring multiple different sports, and individual events for single sports, both incorporating able-bodied and disabled entrants from schools from across the city. Throughout the Games, London boroughs compete against each other to score points on a real-time leaderboard. This culminates in a festival of sport in late June at the London Youth Games Finals, with over 6,000 Londoners descending on iconic Olympic and Paralympic legacy venues for an unforgettable weekend of sport.
The Games relies on an army of volunteers to function – collectively referred to as the “Gamesforce”. Members of the Gamesforce undertake important roles in organising and running the various Hub and individual events on the road to the Finals.
On 18 June 2024, Hayley Kenny, Jordan Waters, Karolina Andrzejczak, Taylor Samuel and Oliver Rutt from the Boult team attended the London Youth Games hub event at Gunnersbury Sports Hub, near Acton Town. During their time at the event, our team registered participants, assisted with the schedule for the day and helped with any enquiries from attendees. They also recorded scores on live league tables as events finished, and helped out with the awards ceremonies at the end of the day. The day featured teams from schools representing a spectrum of London boroughs including Haringey, Barnet, Richmond and Enfield, competing for points on the overall Games leaderboard – and having fun doing so.
There were a number of different sporting events taking place on the day, with the Boult team supporting the rugby football league (tag rugby) and rounders competitions (run in collaboration with Rounders England).
Working with the London Youth Games is a natural fit for Boult. We are passionate about improving social mobility; indeed, it is one of the key tenants of our responsible business strategy. We already have a longstanding relationship with the Sutton Trust – a charity that champions social mobility, by supporting young people’s ability to access leading universities and careers, regardless of their background. The aim of the Games is complementary to this. After-school sports and activities increasingly present financial barriers to children from less-affluent backgrounds. The Games seeks to open up sport to young people across London, giving them access to the health, social and community benefits of sport regardless of their upbringing.
Our volunteering policy supports our staff in their own individual volunteering efforts, but the firm is also developing a series of established volunteering partnerships for staff who would appreciate a more managed volunteering activity. Roles as part of the Gamesforce offer staff a very different volunteering experience – working with young people from communities across London – to our existing partnership with the Soup Kitchen – a charity supporting the homeless, elderly, isolated and vulnerable people in the city. In addition, sport is a keen interest for many in our team, and we envisage volunteering opportunities with the Games as being particularly popular ones in the near future.
The London Youth Games are entering the home straight as the Finals approach at the end of the month. Boult looks forward to continuing to support the Games next year with more hub and individual events throughout the season.
“It was a really rewarding experience. The kids were fantastic and the spirit of competition and sportsmanship was great to see.” Oliver Rutt, Partner and Volunteer
“It was a great day out and I would definitely like to participate again. It was lovely to see so many pupils being able to enjoy their favourite sports. The event was very well organised, and the staff even educated us in the ins-and-outs of Tag Rugby!” Taylor Samuel, Corporate Services Officer and Volunteer
For more on responsible business at Boult, including our work with the Sutton Trust, read here.
Find out more about the London Youth Games and the upcoming Finals here.
