WALTHAM Forest girls’ team have made it through to the volleyball finals of the Balfour Beatty London Youth Games after squeezing through the qualifying rounds at SCORE Sport Centre, Leyton on Saturday.

They now go forward to compete at the National Sports Centre, Crystal Palace on July 2 as one of the final four boroughs to make it through to the showpiece event, being joined by Wandsworth, Richmond and Kensington & Chelsea.

However, in Sunday’s boys’ qualifiers, Waltham Forest just missed out on points difference after losing to Wandsworth 25-21 and Kensington & Chelsea 25-22. Earlier in the day they had beaten City of London 25-17, Ealing 25-15, Enfield 25-8, Haringey 25-18, Kingston 25-18 and Islington 25-5.

The girls’ team recorded wins over Ealing (27-25), Hackney (25-15), Hounslow (25-9) and Brent (25-11) to win through to the finals, despite defeats to Kingston (23-25) and Richmond (25-12).

Waltham Forest team manager Jim Howell was delighted the girls had made the finals. He said: “Getting to the semi-finals is an achievement in itself. Anything else will be a booster to the team.

“From experience, teams sometimes change from the qualifiers to the final four, with some youngsters going on summer. It will be interesting to see what teams will bring to the table a month from now.

“Obviously we are very pleased to get to play at the finals. I’ve got a month to prepare to work these girls, including some very young ones at that. Hopefully we can be ready for the finals.”

The London Youth Games volleyball competition has helped in the development of some of the UK’s leading players, including Team GB member Peter Bakare, who is due to play at the 2012 Olympic Games.

The Balfour Beatty London Youth Games is Europe’s largest annual youth sports event. Funded by Sport England National Lottery, the event enjoyed the most successful year in its 34-year history in 2010.

There were more than 64,000 participants, aged between seven and 18, from 33 London borough teams taking part in 60 competitions across 30 sports.

Waltham Forest finished 14th overall in the 2010 London Youth Games Jubilee Trophy standings, including placing third in the boys’ volleyball and third in the weightlifting.

The 2011 season covers 26 competition days through to the finals weekend at the National Sports Centre, Crystal Palace on July 2/3.

For more information on how to participate or volunteer at the London Youth Games, see www.londonyouthgames.org.