Girlguiding UK Centenary Camp

  31 July - 7 August 2010

Harewood House, Yorkshire

Have you thought about bringing a group yourself?

• You DO NOT have to be a Guide section Leader in order to bring a group to camp
• There is no longer a 1:4 ratio of adults to girls
• The camp will be fully catered - no washing up or cooking all week
• For Guides, there will be eight different activity slots covering a vast range of exciting, challenging and creative things to do
• For group leaders, there will be an adult activity programme to tap into
• There will be a special sub camp for 14 to 16 year old girls who are not or who do not wish to be part of a Camp Group. Individuals or groups can attend with or without a Leader
• Cost - £400 for UK Guides and £300 for UK Camp Group Leaders
• Also included in the price are:

• - guaranteed entry to Fusion
• - a special edition Centenary Camp tent (for Camp Groups to take home after the event)
• - items of camp kit and equipment

• International guests are booked in from around 38 countries and Girlguiding UK branches

Who can be a Camp Group Leader?

You do not need to be a Guide section Leader or assistant to bring a group to camp and you do not need a camp licence or qualification. There will be enough experienced staff with the relevant qualifications to fulfil the requirements.

Camp group leaders must, however, be members of Girlguiding UK and known to the girls they are bringing. They could be a Senior Section, Brownie or Rainbow Leader locally, a Commissioner or Adviser, or they could be a Unit Helper with sufficient guiding experience. They must be over 18 and have had a Criminal Record Disclosure relevant to the country in which they live.

How many Guides can attend?

Original ratios of one Leader to four Guides have been relaxed, following feedback from Counties and Leaders who felt that 1:4 was not workable for various reasons.

Groups can now be brought to the Centenary Camp in any ratio, provided that there are sufficient adults to look after the Guides.

Catering arrangements

The Centenary Camp will be fed via two large, specially designed on-site restaurants which will serve three meals a day, including a packed lunch for those going off site. A full range of meals will be served and there will be plenty of choice each day, and, of course, special provision for those with dietary or cultural needs. 

The restaurants will run from separate kitchens and will be staffed by professional catering teams. Volunteers from the CAST (Camp Adult Support Team) will help to serve and clear meals and for diners, it will be a turn-up-and-eat experience.

There will also be a café on site plus other retail outlets serving food at various times of the day.

Activities

There will be nine activity zones and Guides will be able to choose 8 activities from as many zones as they want before they come to camp, subject to availability. The activity zones will be:

• Adventure on - from climbing to archery and quad bikes to pioneering.
• Adventure off - from skiing, sledging and aerial adventures to mountain boarding
• Aqua - all forms of water activities - on it, in it, using it, drinking it, conserving it
• Discovery - explore the delights this part of Yorkshire has to offer
• Community service - a conservation or service based activity for the local community or a national or international organisation.
• Heritage - traditional guiding activities from the best of the last hundred years - either with a modern twist or in its familiar form.
• Sports Mixture - a long list of local sports including rugby, football, fencing, golf, tennis and cheer leading.
• Creativity - experience and try out arts, crafts or cooking workshops.
• Performing arts - participate in all sorts of drama, theatre and music sessions

There will also be a programme of evening activities, including international nights and inter-sub camp competitions.

Adult Activity programme

As a camp group leader you will be expected to give two days' service to the camp and a role for those days will be allocated to you. If you have a particular expertise you can offer the camp, e.g. an activity qualification or a medical qualification, and then there will be an opportunity for you to inform the team of this. The intention is also to provide adult activities for camp group leaders.

See the Terms and Conditions on the Girlguiding UK Centenary website.

Sub Camp for 14 to 16-year-olds, the Jets

Camp organisers have recognised that this age group have felt excluded from the camp, since the Senior Section staff team, the STARS, start at age 16.  A special sub camp will therefore be set up for 14 to 16-year-olds, allowing them to attend the camp without their Leader, if they so wish.  Girls can come as individuals or group together from units or friendship groups. There will be an age-appropriate range of activities for the girls to do.

The cost will be the same as Guide participants (£400) and details of how to book will be on the website.

Cost

Directors appreciate that £400 per UK Guide participant and £300 for UK Camp Group Leaders, are significant sums to find in the current economic climate.

A non-returnable deposit of £100 per participant, including Camp Group Leaders, is required 28 days after the booking is made. The balance must be paid by May 1, 2010. 

The Girlguiding UK Centenary Camp, however, is a prestigious event, one of the highlights of the Centenary year and is designed to provide a truly memorable, challenging and life-enhancing experience for Guides.

Unlike other international camps, this event will never be repeated - there will only be one Girlguiding UK Centenary Camp ever and it's a chance for Guides and their Leaders to be at the very heart of the Centenary celebrations during the summer of 2010.

As such, activities and facilities provided during the week will be second to none and the cost of providing these will be greater than at other Large scale camps.

Included in the price is

• Entry to Fusion (Girlguiding UK's open air performing arts festival being held at Harewood on the Wednesday during the camp week)
• A special edition Centenary Camp four-man tent - commissioned for the event from tent manufacturers Outwell. It is a quality tent, designed to last and to be a prestigious "I was there" item for each Camp Group to take home. Four Guides will share a tent which they will take back to their unit.  Two Leaders will share a tent and decide between them who will take it home.
• Centenary Camp clothing and kit - details to be confirmed
• All meals fully catered in restaurants - no cooking or washing up
• An amazing programme of activities which you will be able to choose and book before the camp starts
• A series of surprise special events at camp

International Guests

Guides and their Leaders from 38 countries and Girlguiding UK branches have already booked into the camp - and more are expected to do so in the next few weeks. At the time of writing (September 2009) contingents have booked from the following countries: Nigeria, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Australia, Japan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, New Zealand, Denmark, Ukraine, Greece, Ireland, Canada, the West Indies, El Salvador, Canada, British Columbia and the USA. From the Girlguiding UK Branch Associations, contingents from Anguilla, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, St Helena, Turks and Caicos Islands, the Ascension Islands, Montserrat and the British Virgin Islands have booked to attend.

I hope to see you there.

Anne Hudson

Chief Commissioner