by Tom Leaning
The Camping and Caravanning Club’s (CCC) annual Youth Rally is heading to Northern Ireland over the weekend 30 June – 2 July for the first time in over a decade.
The busy event, held at the Ballymena Showground, will be attended by more than 300 people from all over the UK, and boasts a packed schedule of activity, including sports, evening discos, games and trips off site.
Camping Club Youth is the Club’s dedicated youth section, open to children aged 12-17, and highlights for attendees include an afternoon trip to follow the Causeway Coastal Tour, with the Giant’s Causeway itself around 30 miles away.
The Giant’s Causeway is looked after by The National Trust, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, formed as a result of intense volcanic and geological activity dating back 60 million years. En route, the group will travel via The Dark Hedges, a popular filming location featured recently on hit TV series Game of Thrones.
Youths aged 14 and above can complete the Camping Club Youth Test, and if they pass they benefit from free Club membership up to the age of 21, and licence to camp on any of the Club’s network of more than 100 Club Sites or club-run meets without their parents. The Youth Test also makes ideal training for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme, and the Club is licensed as an operating authority of the DofE Award.
This year, a total of three Certificate of Achievement awards will be presented to current Club Youth members across the weekend. Awards are given based on an individual’s achievements when camping, with prizes including vouchers to the value of £100-£300 for use at selected outdoor retailers.
All Youth members attending the National Youth Rally receive a commemorative hoodie and goodie bag. The showground itself now features an all-new three-story grandstand, which affords great views of the Antrim Plateau and Slemish Mountain.
Brian Willis, the Club’s Regional Youth Liaison Officer for Northern Ireland and National Youth Rally 2017 Chairman, said: “I’d like to thank our many local sponsors for helping us to put on and arrange this year’s event. The Club’s youth leaders each do great work to develop our young teenagers into mature and responsible adults, and I look forward to celebrating the success of several of these teenagers at this year’s awards ceremony.”
For information on Camping Club Youth and the 2017 National Youth Rally, visit: www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/campingclubyouth
