Tag: summer camp

31/07/2024

YPSP Member Shares Their Summer Camp Experience

By Dana Brand, Young Person’s Sport Panel member

At the start of July, I had the pleasure of volunteering at the annual SDS Summer Camp at Badaguish. As this was something completely out of my comfort zone, I really couldn’t have predicated how amazing this experience would be.

Volunteers arrived the day before participants. Everyone was incredibly welcoming, and we all got stuck in to preparing for the week ahead. Later that evening, we had a rundown of the weeks plans before a lovely dinner and heading to bed!

Bright and breezy on the Wednesday morning, chef Andy prepared a lovely cooked breaky before a jam-packed day of amazing activities! I had the joy of standing in the pouring rain with Gillian to welcome parents and their children to the camp. After everyone arrived, we jumped straight into a hearty lunch of pizza and pasta. Campers were then divided into three teams: red, blue and green.

LET’S GO BLUE TEAM!

Our afternoon started with some athletics, tennis and curling. Blue team thoroughly enjoyed their time curling. This activity was also a first for me and it quickly became one of my favourites! We then all got ready and put on our waterproofs to head to Loch Insh for water sports and archery, followed by a lovely evening dinner! Blue team started off with water sports where everyone got the choice of kayaking, canoeing or paddleboarding. I joined in and got in a kayak for the very first time too and it was an amazing experience. By the time our session for water sports had finished, some of the kids were in the water swimming and I was soaked from being splashed so many times! We then got dried off and changed before tucking into a yummy dinner – I went for a veggie burger followed by some delicious sticky toffee pudding.

After dinner we had our last activity of the day, archery. It was wonderful to see the kids all helping each other, with adaptations being made to ensure everyone could participate. Having group members with a sight impairment taught the kids to use their words and guide their fellow campers for each activity, which really brought the group together!

We then headed back to the camp. As it was quite late, we went straight to our lodges and got cosy before enjoying some tasty hot chocolate before bed. We had an absolutely amazing first day, and everyone seemed to gel really well together.

Day two started with an early rise to get breakfast and lunch prepared in our lodge. Campers were encouraged to be independent and help each other, and the girls in my lodge did exactly that! We then set out to meet everyone else and split into our teams. The morning began with some boccia, goalball and football. It was great to see the children find activities that they really enjoyed and try so many new sports!

We then travelled to Glenmore Lodge where we ate our packed lunches before setting of on our expedition to the Green Loch. Not only was this challenging for the kids, but it was also challenging for me. With such busy days of activities, I was in a lot of pain however seeing the motivation from all the kids and the sheer determination shown from the campers was a big help in keeping me going too. Everyone worked so well as a team, making sure we all made it to the beautiful Green Loch and I couldn’t be prouder of my team.

After completing our expedition, everyone returned to Badaguish Outdoor Centre and tucked into some well-deserved dinner of fajitas or macaroni! We then had a fun filled evening enjoying an array of activities across the lodges from nail painting and hair art to uno and karaoke, there was something for everyone!

Our last day of camp started with an early rise. We had breakfast in our lodges before packing up to head home that afternoon. Back in our teams we had the chance to try out some cycling with some amazing adaptable bikes. This was definitely one of the top activities of the week with everyone having massive smiles across their faces. This was followed by the famous camp De Courcy games, the final team activity before the announcement of the John De Courcy Trophy! This involved the team listening closely and working together to complete a series of obstacle courses in a limited time.

Before announcing the winners of this years camp, parents joined their kids for a tasty camp BBQ. After everyone was fed, we gathered to announce this year’s camp winners, BLUE TEAM!!! To be part of the winning team for my first camp volunteering was the cherry on the cake. What an amazing week with some truly amazing kids – this experience couldn’t have been any better.

22/07/2024

Summer Camp 2024: A Special Thanks From SDS

By William Moncrieff, Communications Apprentice

It’s crazy to think that two weeks ago, bags were being packed for 27 participants and 26 members of staff in preparation for Scottish Disability Sport’s Summer Camp. No one could have predicted the immense amount of fun and adventures that were to come!

SDS’s annual Summer Camp was held at Badaguish outdoor center, located just outside of Aviemore in the center of the Highlands. The camp provided a scenic setting which everyone called home over the week.

The Camp was action packed. Providing all campers with loads of exciting opportunities including curling, athletics, tennis, water sports, archery, boccia, football, goalball, cycling, obstacle courses and an expedition to the Green Loch.

Hopefully, campers left camp with some great memories, shared with new and old friends. Maybe some will also continue to participate in one of the sports they tried at camp!

One thing is for certain – it wouldn’t have been possible without the support from some key people and organisations. Therefore, SDS would like to express thanks to:

Dundee Dragons, for the use of their van. The van was vital in helping participants travel from the camp to Loch Inch to try out a range of water sports, as well as transporting campers to Glenmore Outdoor Centre where they could begin their expedition to the Green Loch.

A special mention to Graham MacBain for driving all the Campers and Staff around safely, ensuring we always arrived at our location.

A lot of effort is put in behind the scenes in summer camp production and organisation. Scottish Disability Sport are incredibly grateful to MBM Health Care for the use of their hoists and shower chairs, alongside David Hill from Castle Semple Centre for lending us the use of the Aquabacs.

Many thanks to Scottish Curling, Able to Adventure, Highland Cycle Ability Centre and Loch Inch. Their support and involvement provided the campers with a wide variety of fun and engaging activities – opportunities that many would not have had access to beforehand.

Finally, a shoutout to Badaguish Outdoor Centre for hosting us for the week. The camp was the perfect base to come back to in between activities and at the end of an action packed the day.

11/07/2024

Summer Camp 2024: Day One

Day one of the SDS Summer Camp has been action packed with activities and despite the weather’s best efforts, not even the continuous rain could dampen anyone’s spirits.

After all the campers had arrived and settled in, the first thing on the agenda was lunch! The chef, Andy, treated us all to pizza and pasta – a fitting meal, giving everyone plenty of energy for the sporty afternoon that lay ahead.

Campers were divided into three teams: red, blue and green, before they split up to do different activities: tennis, athletics and floor curling. It was great to see the red team tackle the technical skills of tennis so positively. They did drills that tested their hand-eye coordination, before practicing rallies and serving. Although tennis is largely an individual sport, the red team really showed their team spirit today and were super at supporting each other. Grace, the YPSP Administrator, was part of the red team and she said: “It’s been great to see the team working together, cheering each other on and making long lasting memories!”

Faye from Scottish Curling ran the floor curling session which proved to be a lot of fun! The blue team had great accuracy – often finding the center of the target. Their focus and accuracy found them scoring the most points in the final target game – beating the red team by one point to take the win with 16 points. The green team took third with 13 points. A very close competition! Felicity, from the blue team, said: “I’ve really enjoyed today. I’ve been at Badaguish before but it’s even better this time. I think it’s nice to experience it again and it just seems better. I’ve got a couple of new friends, someone called Iona, she’s in my team.”

Athletics was the third sport on in the first half of the afternoon. The green team did well in the running drills, which tested their balance and coordination. There was also lots of laughter and things even got quite competitive in the relay races!

After each team had rotated around all three sports, it was a quick change into waterproofs before climbing into the van and heading to Loch Insch for some watersports and archery.

Archery proved to be a great hit but the watersports seemed to be a highlight of the day for the majority of the campers, with participants taking part in kayaking and paddleboarding – some were even brave enough to go for a swim in the loch!

Ling Mann, a leader for team green, said: “It was a fantastic first day. The kayaking and archery were very popular amongst the team. The watersports were a big hit.”

Lucy, who is also in the green team, had a special highlight of the day: “Ling and Jonny falling off their boats was my highlight. They flipped over and fell out completely. It was really fun!”

Layla from the red team said: “The red team have done brilliantly today! Kayaking was my favourite, it was really fun. I enjoyed making some new friends and very excited for tomorrow!”

It seems like lots of new friendships were formed on day one. “My favourite part of the day was petting the duck that was getting carried out the restaurant”, said Leo, red team member.

Harris, from the blue team, also liked the social element of the summer camp: “I’ve enjoyed meeting everyone and the team mascot is to keep so the other teams don’t steal it, to get points. The flag is to basically fly around so that people know that the blue team is coming. We’re going to win!”

Dinner at Loch Insh heated up the campers, as everyone tucked in to either a steak pie, chicken or veggie burger followed by some ice cream or sticky toffee pudding!

By the time we arrived back at Badaguish, there was just time for a hot chocolate before bedtime. William, a leader from team blue, said: “A lot of them have heard about the itinerary for the next few days and they’re so excited about the opportunity to continue trying new sports that they could possibly take into their day-to-day lives.”

We hope everyone has a good night’s rest – they’ll need it ahead of day two’s adventures!