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.
Participants warming themselves by the campfire during the Y+S training course. Photo: SJAS
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.
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 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. The make-up of this training course reflects our commitment to offering high-quality leadership in our holiday camps. We wish to equip our camp leaders with additional skills, help them in their personal development and provide them with the education and training they need.
All our participants received their Y+S qualification at the end of nine intense days in Niedergösgen – a testimony to their dedication, commitment and new range of skills. We look forward to seeing them again as they slip eagerly and adeptly into their role as camp leaders on future holiday camps.
Further information is available on our website. Please note that bookings have opened for our two winter holiday camps, details of which can also be found on our website: www.revue.link/wintercamp. The registration deadline is 31 August.
Foundation for Young Swiss Abroad (FYSA) Alpenstrasse 24 3006 Berne, Switzerland Phone +41 31 356 61 16 info@sjas.ch sjas.ch
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