Last year’s London Youth Games cross-country run [London Youth Games]

THE Hampstead Heath mud was eerily settled on Saturday morning after the start of the new ­London Youth Games (LYG) season was ­cancelled at the 11th-hour due to weather concerns.

The third week of November has become a landmark moment in the calendar for budding young athletes from across the capital.

More than a thousand runners were expected to gather at Parliament Hill Fields to take part in the challenge that is the LYG’s cross-country event. But borough coaches had to break the “disappointing” news to their team members late on Friday evening that the opening competition in Europe’s largest youth multi-sports festival was not going to take place due to “forecasted deteriorating conditions”.

Unhappy with the late timing of the announcement, Team Camden manager Ben Dorsett said: “I was very disappointed with the decision to cancel the cross-country at such short notice, as were all of the parents and the young people that were set to take part.

“Having walked around the Heath on several occasions over the last couple of weeks, and knowing the lay of the land, I was very surprised that it was necessary to cancel the event at the 11th-hour.

“Hopefully it can be rearranged, especially for those young athletes for whom it was going to be their last opportunity to take part in the London Youth Games.”

Organisers behind the LYG said they were exploring the possibility of hosting the big race day at a later date.

LYG CEO Andy Dalby-Welsh said: “I sincerely apologise for the late cancelation and the inconvenience it caused to all involved. We under­stand the disappointment this decision brought to many young people, their families, the workforce and other partners.

“This was a very difficult call to make. Every year, we look forward to welcoming runners from across London to the cross-country event. However, the safeguarding of our participants, their families and our workforce will always be paramount. For those more experienced athletes with the right equipment, the course would have been runnable. However, we pride ourselves on this event drawing many young people from many different backgrounds. Therefore, for some this would not have been a safe or enjoyable experi­ence in the forecasted deteriorating conditions we were faced with.”

A statement on the LYG website added: “We would like to thank our borough team organisers who had to contact their runners and families at short notice.

“We would also like to thank City of London Corporation for providing the course and South-East England Athletics for support for the day.

“We remain committed to creating life-changing opportunities through the power of sport for all young Londoners. We will explore the potential of rearranging the event for later in this Olympic and Paralympic year.”

The LYG is now set to commence in late January with the trampolining event, in which athletes will get the chance to perform a series of movements including twisting and somersaults.