Scouts, Venturers, and Rovers attended an amazing event to round up the longest month of the year… January!
On Friday the 30th of January, four Scouts, three Venturers, two Rovers, and a handful of Scouters made the journey along the windiest of windy roads to the YMCA in Newcastle.
Upon arrival, Scouts and Scouters alike helped to set up and prepare for the festivities to come before the young people were shown where they would be staying for the weekend and enjoyed some supper.
The following morning the excitement began after breakfast, where the young people took part in various outdoor activities, including but not limited to zip-lining, rock climbing, and abseiling. Not to mention, they were enjoying these adventurous activities with other young people their age from across the whole of the Northern Province of Scouting Ireland! Activities continued after lunch before we all came together to work on some fabulous posters that represented those in each patrol and how they all come together to make one whole unit.
Dinner was delicious, but what followed was more exciting. It began with a campfire outside. If you are a Scout or Scouter, you know how much fun those campfires can be; if not, maybe you should take this as your sign to consider joining as a youth member or volunteer in order to experience the amazing community that is Scouting!
The evening’s events weren’t over yet! All of the sections and even the scouters took part in displaying their skits, songs, and rhymes to one another before the party started. A pink and neon party, no less, planned by the provincial youth reps. Part of why these events are so enjoyable for the youth is that they are youth-led; the provincial youth reps took time during the year to meet and plan what they wanted the event to look like for themselves and the other young people.
The evening closed out, and the young people returned to their dorms, where they had a cup of tea and watched a movie before heading to bed.
Sunday, although not filled with activities and parties, was equally important, as the young people asked questions and gave their opinions on what Scouting should look like before those hoping to become one of the next provincial youth reps started their speeches. The confidence it takes for young people to stand up in a room and tell their peers why they should vote for them is unreal, and we are all so proud of everyone who gave it a go, and congratulations to those who became reps.
One of our Rovers and two of our Venturers were two of these lucky individuals, and we would like to extend a particular congratulations to them and hope they enjoy the experience.