South Yorkshire Scouts -

Young Spokespeople

South Yorkshire currently has five Young Spokespeople, Georgina, Ethan, Alice, Thomas and Kathryn. A Young Spokesperson (YSP) is a young person who positively communicates to local media (print, radio and TV), local decision makers and the public to advocate Scouting in order to encourage young people to join, adults to volunteer, or raise the profile of Scouting within communities.

Thomas tells us about why he enjoys his role as a young spokesperson ‘Young Spokespeople are young members of the Scouting movement who have been trained to talk confidently and passionately to local print, TV and radio journalists about the scouting activities that we are involved with. We participate in everything from radio adverts, to TV interviews; and one thing is for certain, it is always so exciting. To become a YSP you have to attend a training camp run by the communications team at Scout Headquarters, which is really fun. You get to learn lots of useful information to assist you in the role, as well as the opportunity to meet other scouts from across the UK. By completing this role I have improved my confidence and communication skills and the sheer uniqueness of the role makes it a very exhilarating position, I really enjoy it!'

So far this year the young spokespeople have been involved with various exciting activities such as making promotional videos for the various events, producing recruitment videos to encourage adult volunteers to join, interviewing the USA Olympic diving team, completing an interview at the county beaver sleepover at Magna and of course being the faces of our website!

Watch this space if you are interested in being the public face of Scouting and becoming a YSP for the county – further details of the training courses will be communicated here!

Take a look at the South Yorkshire Scouts youtube channel to see some of the videos that the YSP's have produced!

USA Olympic hopefuls inspire South Yorkshire Scouts!

The USA Olympic diving team who were making a splash in South Yorkshire last week caught up with two of our county young spokespeople, Kathryn and Thomas. The team, who had just arrived in Sheffield are the first group of elite athletes to arrive at their pre-Games training camp in readiness for London 2012.

Kathryn and Thomas were given the chance to interview Abby Johnston, a synchronized 3 metre diver and Nick McCory, a synchronized 10 metre diver, who are both former Scouts.

Here are the highlights from the interview.........

YSPs - what motivates you?

AJ – My main motivation is competition, I really love diving and am continually looking to improve my performance.

NM – I continually look at ways to improve not just in diving but in aspects of life, my motivation is to keep improving all the time at everything that I do.

YSPs - what does competing at the Olympics mean to you?

AJ – It has always been my dream since I was tiny to be an Olympian. I used to watch the Olympics on the television with my family and say that's what I want to do. It would really mean a lot to me to qualify for the games in London.

NM – Diving takes both mental and physical endurance. Success is down to a lot of hard work and training and it would be an absolute honour for me to compete in the Olympics.

YSPs - what would you say to young people who have never tried diving before?

AJ – Don't be scared, go for it! When you hit the water it really does not hurt as much as it looks!

NM – Get out there and try it, you will never know if you will like it unless you try it! I tried it once when I was younger and now look where I am. I would say get out there and try everything that is available to you. Make use of every opportunity, especially all the fantastic opportunities that you get through being in scouts!

YSPs - why did you get involved in scouts and what is your favourite memory?

AJ – I started scouts at a young age and my favourite memory was camping at local science museum and staying up late! Through being in scouts I learnt a lot of great skills including communication, working with others and achieving an end goal. All these skills have assisted me greatly with my diving career.

NM – I started scouts to spend time with my friends that were also in scouts. We had a great time completing various exciting activities, some of my favourites were camping trips, learning navigation skills and building go karts. Again, like Abby scouts taught me lots of transferable skills that assisted me with my diving like being responsible, not cutting corners, self motivation and goal setting. The skills that you learn in scouts can be transferred across many sports and activities, not just diving.

YSPs - If you had one tip for young people aiming to achieve their dream what would it be?

AJ – Never, never give up, keep believing in yourself and keep going after your dreams.

NM – You need the willingness and the drive to pursue your dream.

To celebrate the values of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, all scouts are invited to compete for medals in a series of activities and challenges, Our Sporting Adventure. If Abby and Nick have inspired you about the Olympic Games and you haven't already signed up, join in the medal race and sign up now http://oursportingadventure.scouts.org.uk/.

Thinking of running an Olympic themed event, then look at the resources available online http://www.scouts.org.uk/noticeboard/413/brand-your-olympicthemed-event.

Watch this space for more details on how to see the USA Olympic diving team at their pre-Games training camp in Sheffield this July.