London cannot wait till 2012

London cannot wait till 2012. The city will be at its best, a summer of sport, the capital’s famous landmarks shown off with the world’s best athletes competing for gold and hopefully Team GB will have the same, if not better success as they had in the Beijing games. I rode my bike past the magnificent Olympic village and was truly blown away with the size of the venue and the prospect of watching the biggest global sports event being held there. 

What’s going to happen when the races are finished? Legacy? I hope so. Without the L word, this whole show will have been a waste of time and money. I trust Lord Coe and Boris and I am sure they fulfil their promise of using the games to raise the level of elite sport in this country, use the venues for future events and most importantly get kids excited about sport. 

One venture which has started to capture the imagination of London’s children and parents is Sport Academies. They run the most amazing sports camps and classes for kids and have brought together some of the capitals best coaches to get future Olympians active and having fun. Sport academies have been running camps in Hampstead for three years every school holiday and a trip to the academies is eye opening. Judo and Japenese, Capoeira, tennis coaching, Parkour, yoga and more running around than at the GB training centre! Sport Academies is open to all abilities and the programme is split into Tiny Tots for the 3 to 5 year olds and the nippers and pros for the 6 to 15s. The curriculum is designed by sports scientists and coaches and the children seem to both enjoy it and progress their skills. 

“We have talked a lot with parents and they are really happy with what we offer. It’s all about getting kids active and inspired about sport and having lots of fun in a safe environment,” said Paul the founder of Sport Academies. “Parents have asked us to organise toddler’s classes during the day, so that is what we have done!” Classes will include a special range of sports including tiny tennis, mini muscles, funky dancing feet as well as yoga, parkour and capoeira. Classes will take place in Islington, Chelsea and Marylebone from November and then Sport Academies will be getting mad about movement in Belsize Park and Bayswater in the New Year. 

Any activity where the goal is to expose children to sports in a safe and positive way will only help London create a legacy after the Olympics and we fully support Sport Academies. We will keep you posted on the success of the Tiny Tots and hopefully be able to report on the discovery of the next gold medallist and lots of active kids. 

Visit www.sportacademies.com for all the details of the Tiny Tots classes or email info@sportacademies.com