text: For fun and fitness | The Londoner
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  In 2014, a small drop-in soccer league formed. It consisted of around 25 individuals who played every Sunday at Greenway Park. From those humble beginnings, Connect Sports London was created. Offering a referee/organizer for each location, Connect Sports London offers sports at high-end facilities in the Forest City, including turf sports at Western. "Often leagues run a self-officiated system where teams decide rulings. We found this system worked for some sports, although for the majority there needed to be a third party involved. Adults participating in sport leagues should have the opportunity to play at fantastic facilities with affordable pricing. One of our goals was to bring more sport opportunities to adults in the London area and allow Londoners to choose which leagues suit them best," said Steve Barry of Connect Sports London.
  For summer 2016, leagues are available in turf soccer, turf flag football, turf ultimate Frisbee, ball hockey, softball, beach volleyball, basketball and a flex league that allows players to play a combination of a number of different sports played in the same league.
  One of the unique features of Connect Sports London is the Connect Kids program which uses a portion of the adult fees to provide financial support for children who may not otherwise be able to play organized sport. At the moment, Connect Sports London makes donations to organizations and local school boards to pay the fees for children to participate. "Our ultimate goal with Connect Sports Kids is to help every under privileged child/family in London play in our leagues with no financial barriers. Connect Sports Kids is a way to give back and stand out from all other sports leagues in London. Many of our players now volunteer time to organize the Connect Sports Kids initiatives. In the future, we'd like to run our own sports leagues for children," said Barry.
  The Connect Sports leagues run year round and have been growing every season. There are a few men only leagues, but the majority are co-ed. The largest summer league for 2016 will be co-ed turf soccer, which plays at Western, and will have close to 270 players playing on 24 teams. The seasons are broken into 12-15 week leagues running Fall, Winter and Summer schedules. In addition to turf soccer, other popular leagues include dodgeball and basketball. The organization offers a corporate rate for companies who want to sponsor a weekly company team. Ten London area companies currently participate, and they organization is looking to expand that.
  The Flex League is another feature unique to Connect Sports London. It combines a number of different sports played in the same league. Barry advised often players don't want to commit to one single sport for a set amount of time. The flex league consists of floor hockey, volleyball, basketball, dodgeball and indoor futsal soccer. "We play a different sport each week and at playoff time we simply do a random draw to select the sports. This league allows players the opportunity to try a number of sports and potentially pick one that they love to play every week next season," said Barry.
  Leagues need to have a full roster of participants to run effectively, and finding enough organizers and referees is essential. Barry advised the organization will be running advertisements for new positions as the summer leagues will be the largest to date.
  In addition, acquiring space to play in London can be a challenge. "We dedicate a significant amount of time towards researching and making valuable connections in the community regarding which facilities we use. Our plan for the future includes building and upgrading a number of underutilized facilities in the area," said Barry.