SwissCommunity Training “regatta” Holiday camp leaders need a whole host of practical and social skills to moderate the groups of children and teenagers with whom they come into contact. Our training courses are designed to equip them with these qualities. In April 2025, we held our FYSA Youth and Sport (Y+S) Camp Sports/Trekking training course in close partnership with the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad. The course was open to all our prospective Y+S camp leaders. We are proud that this event is attracting more and more participants, and that multilingual communication – in German, French and English – has become standard practice for our instructors. The course was structured like a regatta. Stopping at various “ports of call”, each stage was devoted to a new, exciting theme. Our participants visited Berne on the day before the course started, where they planned their own activities in small groups. They would later get the chance to carry out these activities with their fellow participants during the course. We started the week with an enjoyable two-day hike featuring a night camping outside. In the middle of the countryside, participants experienced what it means to lead a group of young people on a proper outdoor camp. In addition to hiking, the challenge consisted of cooking together over a campfire – an activity that promoted togetherness and fuelled participants’ spirit of adventure. their paces, while theoretical aspects like safety management, contingency planning and group dynamics were put into practice. Apart from sporting and organisational challenges, the course offered plenty of scope for personal reflection and knowledge sharing. We often sat together late into the night, discussing challenging situations, recounting experiences of past camps and coming up with new ideas for future adventures. Planning requires (multilingual) teamwork. Photo: SJAS The “regatta” prepares for a night on terra firma. Photo: SJAS Participants who complete the course qualify as Y+S Camp Sports/Trekking leaders. Photo: SJAS The course included varied activities every day, ranging from classic sporting pursuits to creative role playing and training elements. Our programme of sports tournaments, cooperative games and games in the forest put participants physically through 32 Swiss Review / July 2025 / No.3
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