Sports clubs and development

There are over 110 sports clubs in the borough that are open to residents. Many of these have achieved our Feel Good Mark of quality. 

Europe's largest sporting event for young people involves all 33 London boroughs in over 60 competitions across 30 sports.

Sports available in 2026 

• Cross Country - fastest park run times selected for WF team
• Trampolining
• Squash
• Boccia
• Cricket
• Judo
• ParaGames Swimming
• Basketball
• Volleyball
• Tennis
• Kayak Slalom and Sprint
• BMX
• ParaGames Football
• Netball School
• Football Girls U13
• Badminton
• Football Girls U15
• ParaGames Athletics
• Athletics
• Swimming
• Diving
• Aquathlon
• Hockey
• Road Cycling
• Table Tennis

You can compete for Waltham Forest if you live or go to school in the borough. It’s free and open to all young people aged between 7 and 17 (competitions have different age ranges). 

Visit the London Youth Games game rules page for more information on game rules and who can enter. 

The games has been a stepping stone in the careers of international and Olympic athletes. Find out more about London Youth Games.

To see how you can get involved email feel.good@walthamforest.gov.uk

Club Matters provides free guidance, support and learning on all aspects of running a sports club. To find out more, see the Sport England Club Matters website.

Sport for Confidence supports people with and without learning disabilities to participate in a variety of sporting activities. You can join in with a different sport each week, meet new friends and learn new skills. 

When: Wednesdays 11:30am to 12:15pm, 1pm to 2pm and 3pm to 4pm, Thursdays 11:30am to 12:15pm, 1pm to 2pm

Where: Waltham Forest Feel Good Centre, 170 Chingford Road, Walthamstow E17 5AA. Cost: £3 per session.

To find out more, email Hannah Webster: Hannah@sportforconfidence.com or call her on 07543 742 407. You can also visit the sport for confidence website.

We also work with Leyton Orient Community Sports Programme (LOCSP) and Tottenham Hotspur Foundation (THF) charities to run creative sports and educational projects.

To find out more, call LOCSP on 020 8556 5973 or THF on 020 8365 5138.

To find out about funding, see the London Sport Funding Update.

This year's Mini London Marathon Championship event takes place on Saturday 25 April 2026, over the final 2.6km of the London Marathon course.

Applications to be part of the team to represent Waltham Forest have now closed.

Eligibility

The age categories for the 2026 race are:

• Under 12 - Born between 1 September 2014 and 31 August 2016
• Under 14 - Born between 1 September 2012 and 31 August 2014
• Under 16 - Born between 1 September 2010 and 31 August 2012
• Under 18 - Born between 1 September 2008 and 31 August 2010

Athletes must live or go to school in the borough that they would like to represent. To apply to join our team you will need to:

1. Complete a 5k parkrun (or junior park run for U12's) event by Monday 16 March 2026
2. If you have not done a parkrun before then you will need to register to complete a parkrun no later than 6pm on the Friday before you want to run
3. Email the team with the park run ID and participant information

The Feel Good team will select the six fastest male and six female athletes in each category (four in the U12 category) to represent Waltham Forest on Saturday 25 April 2026. We will contact qualifying athletes after the qualifying period.

We will accept any 5k parkrun event time, however we encourage athletes to support the events in the borough. View details on all parkrun events.

When taking part in a parkrun event you must adhere to the parkrun terms and conditions.