On a very wet day in September, the County held a special action-packed day just for Guides. The rain didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits with all Guides still getting a chance to do all the adventurous activities, even if they did need to huddle under a marquee while the showers passed! The event was held at Kenton Recreation Ground and adjacent Scout Hut and was split into a morning and afternoon session with all 11 units coming together for lunch.
All Guides got to partake in three activities, the first being a Skateboarding session led by Best Foot Forward Skate Academy. The session they ran was absolutely amazing! The instructors were extremely good at encouraging everyone to have a go regardless of their starting ability and were able to tailor the session to the ability of those in it. Even those Guides who had never set foot on a skateboard before this session were whizzing up and down the hall and doing basic tricks by the end of the session.
The next session everyone got to have a go at was a BMX session ran by Access Sport. Kenton Recreation Ground is home to Harrow Pump Track a dedicated BMX track which opened at the end of 2020. The session run by access sport was excellent, it started off with some basic BMX skills on the flat ground to ensure everyone was riding safely and to a level that was suitable for on the track.
Once the instructors were happy with the proficiency of the Guides on the BMX bikes, they headed to the track to have a go at some of the course. The Guides started out with some of the smaller elements and those that wanted to got a chance to go on a larger ramp as well. The instructors were all so patient and encouraging to the Guides, and even spent time with those who had never ridden a bike before, with one Guide Leader feeding back that one of their Guides had never rode a bike before and learnt that day with the instructors!
The final activity the Guides got to do was a Spray Painting session. The guides got to choose their colours and stencils and create amazing, layered designs on canvas. The instructor took the time to teach them different techniques and really helped them get the most out of their ideas and designs. Throughout the day we had some really great creations with everyone, even those who exclaimed having no artistic ability, creating something incredible!
For lunch we even had a Pizza Truck onsite making fresh wood fired pizzas for everyone to enjoy!
It was truly an incredible day with all the Guides and Leader raving about it afterwards. Many leaders were very appreciative of County organising such as event, as there were activities that they may not be able to or feel confident organising for their units themselves.
The Urban Adventure day was an event open to all Guides from across the County at a minimal cost thanks to the Girlguiding Adventure Grant, a special grant from Girlguiding specifically for offering new or adventurous experiences to our young members.
An absolutely massive thank you to Jade who organised this amazing day!