My name is Patricia Andrews, and I’ve been a part of the London Youth Games for the last 45 years in various roles.

I think my first encounter with the London Youth Games was when I watched it in 1977, which was the Jubilee Games, and I always wanted to know what that was about. I was fortune enough to be selected in 1979 to compete in the squash event for Waltham Forest and after that in netball and athletics. I did that for a couple years and then it led to my career as an athlete. I competed in javelin at the county and east of England level and then competed for England and Great Britain.

London Youth games have been a huge part of my life on a career level and helped me to think about teaching sports. I was fortunate enough to coach gymnastics and trampolining. I taught young people to compete at a high level to then hopefully be able to compete for Waltham Forest, which is their own home borough.

The London Youth games have got such a great platform for people to springboard off and have so many different careers and different varieties of roles.

For me I have not just been a coach or a competitor, but I’ve also been an advocate and an ambassador for the London Youth Games. I was spreading the word through sports, being a head teacher and my PE career, which spanned over 37 years. Although I have had numerous roles, sports have always been at the heart of what my thrust was for young people, and I have enjoyed every moment of it.

Sport really gives young people an opportunity and experience. There’s a lot of challenges for young people out there and it would be really good if we had people come on board and really start to think about young people and start supporting them. You can support them by donating, becoming a partner, sponsoring young people, and sponsoring culture and sports. All these avenues are a really great way to ensure that the London Youth Games remain very prevalent in young people’s lives. It gives them the opportunities that I once had.

I am still very involved in LYG and I’m still working very hard to ensure that young people have a bright future, a sporting future, and a healthy future. It’s really important to make links with what actual sport can bring to that young person.

I just hope that people come on board and really look at it and think about supporting the London Youth Games.