Cheryl Baker 'Making Her Mind Up' at Better Club Games for Older Persons' Olympics

Singer, performer and 'National Treasure' Cheryl Baker will be the celebrity ambassador hosting this year’s 'Club Games' at Copper Box Arena in London’s Olympic Park.

The Games – which take place on 21 October – are informally known as the 'older persons’ Olympics' and celebrate positive ageing, keeping fit and making friends.

Even better, it’s free to take part!

This year is the twentieth anniversary of the event. More than twenty teams of over-60s from Greater London, the South-East, and the Midlands will come together to compete in a variety of sports and games such as badminton, darts, bowls, dominoes and ping pong.

Cheryl – who came to fame via the Eurovision Song Contest in 1981, singing 'Making Your Mind Up' with the group 'Bucks Fizz' – grew up in the East End, not far from the Olympic Park. She has gone on to have a star-spangled career on the stage and as a TV presenter and has also competed in 'Celebrity Mastermind' and 'Popstar to Operastar' where she astonished audiences with her vocal range.

"It’s wonderful to be back on home turf, supporting such a fantastic event," she comments. "I have always believed that keeping active and engaged with the world is the key to a long and healthy life. I can’t wait to meet those plucky Club Games competitors – they’re sure to be an inspiration!"

Cheryl is now with group 'The Fizz' along with Jay Aston, Matthew Pateman and Nikk Mager. Her autobiography will be available soon.

Celebrating 20 Years of Active Ageing

The Club Games event is organised by charitable social enterprise GLL which runs leisure centres and libraries in England and Wales under the 'Better' brand. Supporting the wellbeing of local communities is an important part of the organisation’s ethos.

Colin Coughtrey, GLL’s National Community Engagement Manager, plays a key part in organising the event each year. "This is the twentieth anniversary of the Games so it’s a really important year for GLL," he explains. "We’re thrilled that Cheryl has agreed to be our celebrity ambassador and bring a touch of glamour to the day.

"The Better Club Games are the 'UK’s Festival of Active Ageing' and while they are a lot of fun, it’s still a competition and we love to see contestants come with a fighting spirit!"

Participating Teams and How to Join

There’s still time to sign up for your local team – areas taking part are as follows:

• Barnet

• Camden

• Croydon

• Crystal Palace

• Ealing

• Enfield

• Greenwich

• Hackney

• Hammersmith & Fulham

• Hillingdon

• Islington

• Kensington & Chelsea

• Lewisham

• Merton

• Mole Valley

• Newham

• Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park & Lee Valley

• Reigate and Banstead

• Richmond

• Rugby

• Sutton

• Waltham Forest

For more information about the games, visit Better Club Games.

If you’d like to find out more about signing up, drop in at your local leisure centre or email club.games@gll.org.