Love camping? Under 21? Here’s why you should join Camping Club Youth (CCY) today.
Looking to get your teen active before summer's out? What better way to do so than by camping? Getting outdoors offers a great opportunity for children and young people to switch off digital devices and focus on the really important things – having fun.
The CCY is the Club’s dedicated group for 12 to 17 year olds. In joining, children quickly develop their social skills, gain team building and leadership skills, and excel in adapting to suit their environment. A few weeks with CCY, and they’ll be pitching a tent like a pro – and that’s the least of it.
1. Learning in the great outdoors
The Club’s National Youth Test offers a challenge for children to test their knowledge and coping skills in the great outdoors, and ultimately become more independent individuals. Children will be coached and tested in map reading, first aid, cooking outdoors, tent pitching and more. Bethany Allen, 24, from Yorkshire Region, said: “As a girl in the Youth, I was never told I couldn’t do something – all activities (bar netball) are open to girls and boys – you can get involved with whatever you like. I have an engineering degree and I put that down to confidence gained through camping – and it’s also a hobby that makes my CV stand out.”
2. Confidence-building
It’s often said that time spent outdoors has great benefits for our overall well-being. Young people often report that membership of CCY has helped bring them out of their shells. Just take Charlotte Turner, 14, of Yorkshire Region: “I feel like I’m two different people at school and when I’m camping. I was so shy when I first joined but I can be myself here because it’s so easy to click with people.”
3. A rally just for Youth members
The Club’s National Youth Rally is an annual summer gathering just for the Youth, an excuse to bond with old friends and make new ones over a weekend. This year’s event at Motcombe in Dorset welcomed 181 Youth members and involved friendly, competitive sports including the legendary (and barmy) Austin Trophy. Casey Fisher, 14, from Yorkshire Region said: “At school, people can be really competitive about showing off the latest electronics and gadgets but when you’re camping you can just turn up wearing something scruffy, and nobody cares. I genuinely do not know what I’d do without my camping weekends.”
4. Making friends
Who couldn’t benefit from more friends? CCY makes it so easy to meet like-minded people. Bethany Allen explained: “You can go anywhere in the UK and you’ll find friends through the Youth. I call them my camping family – I have aunts and uncles here who are no relation but they helped raise me through camping.”
5. Horizon broadening
Once members have completed their Youth Test, they will be eligible to travel overseas with CCY – now there’s an incentive! Next year’s International Youth Rally will take place in the Czech Republic and will be a camping gathering of children from all over the world. Charlotte Turner said: “I went to my first international rally in Croatia this summer and words cannot describe how good it was – it was 10 times better than when I went to Disney World in America.”
To find out more about Camping Club Youth go to the Club's website.