There are many reasons why people become Rotarians, generally it’s because they want to give something back to communities. A very important role in Rotary is to be found in our efforts to help young people in many different ways under the banner of the Youth Committee.

Whilst this is a very admirable initiative the truth soon becomes clear. Dealing with young people in many different ways is incredibly fulfilling and quite frankly just great fun. Naturally, it is necessary to divide schoolchildren into primary and secondary sectors and as far as Rotary is concerned all competitions are arranged for secondary pupils.

However, as a club, Crickhowell Rotary gets heavily involved in the primary sector, many other clubs do not follow our lead.

Primary

Traditionally this has involved arranging Youth Speaks events in our four local schools. Without any doubt Rotarians thoroughly enjoy such events and it offers children the opportunity to talk about any subject, individually or in groups, which helps prepare them for secondary education.

In addition, we always hold a football competition early in the Rotary year allowing some pupils who may not be academically strong to excel in another area.

We are hoping to arrange a new competition during the early summer term - Mini Olympics.

One further initiative is that we arrange to assist schools with reading. This is very important for pupils who need additional assistance.

Secondary

Rotary Youth Competitions are a series of creative and skill based contests, primarily designed to encourage talent, leadership and personal development. All of these competitions are enjoyed by all Rotarians, who, enjoy seeing young people display their talents in a way that many of us were not able to do when in school. So what competitions do we encourage youngsters to take part in and what benefits do they obtain from taking part?

YOUTH SPEAKS - focused on developing public speaking, boosting confidence and understanding teamwork. Their efforts are judged content, delivery and structure and winners progress to District finals.

YOUNG WRITER - focussed on creativity, expression and language skills. Again with progression to District finals

YOUNG INTERVIEWER - assists young people to be creative in their questioning and demands listening skills which are so important in future life.

YOUNG CHEF - pupils have to plan, prepare and present a healthy 3-course meal. Their efforts are judged on planning, presentation, nutritional balance and, naturally, cooking skills.

YOUNG PHOTOGRAPHER - pupils are set a theme for the competition but how they approach it is entirely up to themselves. Judges look for technical ability, interpretation of the theme and composition.

YOUNG ARTIST - again a theme based competition with freedom to express themselves. Judges look for imagination, creativity and artistic skill.

YOUNG MUSICIAN - one of Rotary’s flagship competitions for both vocalists and instrumentalists. Offers them the opportunity to to perform on public stages and receive expert feedback through carefully chosen judges.

RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) - this particular competition is a particular favourite of mine. Pupils attend an outward bound college for five days where they mix with other pupils from all over South Wales. The stated aim is to encourage leadership and teamwork. It’s a very demanding week with almost no contact with the outside world. Crickhowell Rotarians have witnessed on many occasions pupils coming home from this course changed for the better, in so many ways. This really does make a real difference to pupil confidence and understanding – just brilliant from our viewpoint.