Ever wanted to attend the cheese-rolling championships in Gloucestershire? Or the world bog-snorkelling championships in mid-Wales? Or maybe you would like a personal tour of the world-famous Great Yorkshire show?
Perhaps you'd like to bring the rest of your YFC with you, but these events are just out of reach. Or perhaps you have a quirky event in your area that you would like other YFCs to see. Then why not organise a YFC club exchange!
Ever year, Young Farmers from across the country pack their bags and travel the length and breadth of the country to take part in other YFC activities and adventures. In return, clubs then welcome members to their part of the country to provide the same unique experience.
Any club can take part in a YFC Club exchange. You can take however many members you want for as long as you want. This is the ultimate tailor-made travel experience for you and your club!
You don't even have to exchange with another club within NFYFC.
Club exchanges are a great way to make new friends, take part in exciting, new and different activities and learn about YFC culture in another part of the UK...
Just ask Sam Sly of Gillingham & Shaftesbury YFC in Dorset (pictured right)...
How did you
come up with the idea of a club exchange?
As club
chairman of Gillingham & Shaftesbury YFC, I felt that my club needed a
large positive event to bring members together. Also where my club is
positioned in Dorset, we can sometimes be somewhat out the way, so I felt it
was a fantastic opportunity to allow my members the chance to meet other fellow
YFC members.
Was it easy
to organise?
It was
relatively easy to organise down to the fact once the ball got rolling. A lot
of my members stepped up and we started to come up with a timetable for the
three days that Falmouth members were due up. What also helped is that a good
chunk of members from both clubs have undertaken large County, South West Area
or even national roles and were used to the organisation required. The main
task was finding members that were willing to host for the weekend. I think out
of the 13 that came up, I had five, but then the following night we all camped
on a friend’s farm.
Why did you
choose Falmouth YFC?
I chose Falmouth
as I was already good friends with one of their members (Ben Cavill),
which made it easy to open up a line of communication with them. Also I knew
that they were relatively close in the grand scheme of things and thought that
Cornwall was still a good distance away for my members taking part in something
that the club hadn't done in years.
How often
did you meet and how many years did you keep up the exchange?
Falmouth
were the first to come up and they spent three days with us. We then went down
the following weekend and again spent three days. After that, several of
us (myself included) went down about 5/6 times a year, either to their club
night, Dinner & Dance or Cornwall YFC events. We even had a member move
down to Cornwall and get a job, partly thanks to the exchange. A number of us
still stay in regular contact with each other.
What
activities did your club get up to? What activities did you prepare for them?
When we went
to Falmouth, we were met by the whole Club and we spent the evening sat around
a camp fire, singing songs and catching up. It truly was one of the most
enjoyable nights I've had. We spent the next day doing things like blindfolded
pasty making and then spent the afternoon on a beautiful Cornish beach before
going kayaking.
When they came
to us, we started by playing a game of skittles - a proper Dorset Young Farmers
tradition. We had a fantastic tour & bbq around one of our members farms
and, in the evening, we went around one of our members’ homes who lived on an
airfield, had an outdoor disco and camped out under the stars. Sunday, we took
them upto the famous Shaftesbury Gold Hill Fair (Where the famous Hovis Bread
Advert was filmed). We had a good look around and finished the weekend at The
Coppleridge Inn (our YFC’s meeting place) with a slap up lunch.
What are the
benefits of a club exchange to junior, intermediate and senior members?
For our
junior members, they were able to see the friendships that seniors made and as
a result, even those juniors that weren’t members have reached out and
contacted the younger members of Falmouth and Cornwall and are in regular contact
chatting over Facebook - hopefully building friendships that will last for a
lifetime.
For the
seniors, I know that so many of us have made true life-long friendships. I know
personally that I have made so many friends out of just one club exchange right
across Cornwall. I know that when I pop down that I'll be able to bump into
someone I know and carry on a friendship with that person from the last time I
saw them. I know a lot of my senior members are the same.
What did
your club learn from the exchange?
We all
learnt just what fantastic opportunities that Young Farmers can have - not just
as members, but as people. We also learnt that there were shocking similarities
between our members and there’s - some down to a tee!
Have you
made lifelong friends with members from Falmouth YFC?
I know that
even though the club exchange was about 2 years ago now, that when either
myself or the other members go down that we can pick up a friendship from the
following time that's just as strong... we've shared things with each other,
we've helped each other through tough times and laughed at the good... truly
friends for life
Why
would you recommend other clubs take part in an exchange?
The benefits of the club exchange are still being felt by many of the members even now. My club was in need of something that could bring us all together as a club and make us stronger - and a club exchange did exactly that. We were able to have experiences, go to new places and meet people we never would have met if it wasn't for the exchange. I can't stress the benefits of it. For me, it is and it'll remain the highlight of my time in Young Farmers!
Have you ever thought about organising a YFC club exchange but are unsure where to start? If so then read our top tips to help get you started:
If you're thinking of organising a club exchange, email your details to post@nfyfc.org.uk and we'll do a shout out for you!
T: 02476 857 200
F: 02476 857 229
Designed by Kevyn Williams