London Youth Games Cross Country just been cancelled

[eastegg]

Hardly ever start threads but I’m gutted about this. It’s so last minute. We’ve got all our stuff ready, my two kids doing it have been building up to it, snacks, boot bags, safety pins all ready in the hall. Then a phone call 30 minutes ago saying it’s cancelled. Because of safety and the weather apparently.

I just feel so sad for them. Is this it now? Kids sport goes out the window because of the rain? I’ve noticed grassroots football already being affected a lot because of the poor state of the ground. It’s really rubbish. Anyone else affected? Or perhaps you hadn’t yet been told?

I used to do Cross Country there... it very quickly turned into a mud bath and must wreck the park. If you've had heavy rain, they must have needed to be pragmatic.

My DD plays rugby... even that gets cancelled sometimes! This is a cricket pitch, not a pond...

There’s something amiss isn’t there. Better planning and management is needed. Like, if you can see there’s going to be a lot of rain, consider moving the whole course higher up and cut out the lower sections. Start planning for that early. I know it’s not easy, but binning the whole thing, wasting all that time and money?

Also, It’s not just the quantity of rain, it’s a maintenance and management issue with e.g blocked drains and the like. In London we haven’t had anything like the rain events in other parts of the UK recently, and yet still major events can’t go ahead.

Ok looks like there’s no LYG XC parents on here. Or if they are they’re in bed ready for an early start and will find out in the morning!

Bromley primary schools still have their event in Crystal Palace. Not quite the same standard but an amazing experience for the kids. Last year there was ankle deep mid in places. Kids loved it.

I had an U13G and U15B due to run. They are absolutely gutted and like you, I’d spent ages get 15mm pins into 2 sets of spikes, packing towels/dry clothes/socks/hats/gloves etc. Mine are both experienced club XC runners and would have been absolutely fine, but I’m thinking maybe the organisers are concerned that many of the kids aren’t that experienced and/or maybe they don’t all have spikes which would have been a disaster.

The cynic in me thinks they don’t want the course a total mud bath for the Senior SEAA XC Champs, which are still going ahead on the same course.

Really sorry for your kids edwinbear. It’s rubbish. I didn’t know the seniors were still going ahead.

Mine also play football so we have to swing into action now to be ready for training instead (although we’re about to be told whether that’s going ahead. Probably also cancelled).

We were in the same age categories as you, but 2 boys. Hope yours manage to have a good day doing something else. So hard when they’ve built up to it.

DS is off to ParkRun instead and DD, to her school hockey match, so they will still have a good day. Hope yours get to football and let’s keep fingers crossed they might reschedule!

I’m no expert but I should think that the organisers have to consider things like children and spectators slipping in the mud and injuring themselves, children getting very cold while waiting to run, the ground getting too churned up and them having to pay for repairs, or cars getting stuck in mud in temporary parking areas.
I don’t think it’s as simple as you think to just alter the course or move it to a different location on the morning of the event.
I don’t think there are any outdoor sports in the UK that aren’t cancelled due to the weather.

@MagpiePi all very valid points and it is a difficult course which is prone to becoming a mud bath. The main disappointment I think though, is that the whole point of cross country is that it goes ahead in all weathers, it’s very normal for adults & children to be running in awful conditions, it’s very much part of the sport. Still, I’m sure the organisers are just as disappointed and have the kids best interests at heart. Hopefully they can reschedule.

I do understand, and I didn’t say it would be simple. I also wasn’t suggesting moving the location entirely elsewhere at the last minute as that would obviously be impossible. I was talking about advance planning. My kids attended an aquathlon recently where the course was altered to take account of hot weather.

https://londonyouthgames.org/cross-country-statement/

More detailed statement just been put up on the website.

Thanks edwinbear. Enjoy your day.

@eastegg Hi there, my name is Mathilde I'm a tv journalism trainee at City Uni in London. I'm running a story on the LYG Cross Country event cancellation and its impact on kids, especially given the lack of reassurance in the rescheduling of the event. Would you be willing to have a quick chat on how this cancellation has affected you personally? I'd love to hear from people involved. Thanks very much, feel free to reply to this message.