Better Club Games hosts annual sports competition for seniors

The 20th annual Better Club Games, colloquially known as the ‘Older Person Olympics’, brought together hundreds of athletes aged 60 and over to compete in various sporting events across the United Kingdom.

In London, the event was held at the Copper Box Arena, featuring over 1,000 competitors and spectators. A team of 52 senior athletes from Waltham Forest secured second place overall among 23 competing teams. The competition included eleven different disciplines, such as walking football, pickleball, timed cycling, badminton, and short tennis.

An inaugural iteration of the games also took place in Northern England, hosted at a leisure centre in Cumbria. This regional event drew teams from locations including Penrith, York, Preston, Gateshead, and Carlisle, with the Carlisle team ultimately securing the win. Participants highlighted the importance of the games for maintaining physical strength, mental health, and combating social isolation through community engagement.