2006
Report by Carissa Turner (Wales)
I really enjoyed the camp. It was so much fun and the training was amazing.
I didn't really know what to expect of the camp and was pretty scared because my "great" Scottish friends decided to wind me up telling me about forfeits for losing games and stuff. But when I got there the first day it was good because we had to warm up with people we didn't know so that gave us the opportunity to make more friends. The evening was really good, especially being coached by a female (which I'm not used to). Julies so enthusiastic as well which is amazing and also REALLY competitive when you play games.
The next morning I was dreading the run SO much purely because of how early we had to get up. But after breakfast I was alright and enjoyed playing games in the morning. It was cool to have Stuart and Gordon there to help coach and play games against us all, as this gave everyone an idea of the standard to aim towards. Tai Chi was a good experience, was dead relaxing and also a good laugh.
Mini Olympics was a rite laugh and nice to integrate with the group on the athletics camp. I beat Lisa which made it even better!!!
Singles work was really good. It was fairly intense, hardest part was the Smash + Cross block. Games with the cards were good as well because it made you focus on not giving any points because your opponent may only need 1 point to win. The afternoon was also good with the competitive games.
All in all I really enjoyed the camp; the fitness was good - skipping, circuits and running - different coaches' opinions helped me, different routines and the friends I made.
I think the main reason the camp was a success is because it is balanced. Its high intensity serious training with that relaxed fun edge to it. To me that's always good and successful. I will most probably be coming back next year.
Athletics 2006
Report by Lindsay Chalmers (Scotland)
"The athletics camp was very enjoyable, it's a great place to meet new people and have fun. It was planned well and very well organised. My fitness improved during the course of the camp and the coaching was of a very high standard. Everybody received free goodies which added to enjoyment. I would definitely recommend this camp to anybody! I thought it was an excellent experience!"
Article by Jill O'Neill - Athletics Coach
This year saw the introduction of a new sport to the camps. Following extensive discussion with Jill O'Neil and Jude Austin of Garscube Harriers it was decided that athletics, more specifically endurance ruining, would be introduced to the programme.
The camp was offered to all young club runners between the ages of 9 - 16 years and we were able to provide a unique residential training experience for young athletes from Law AC, Victoria Park AAC and Garscube Harriers. The programme covered a wide variety of topics and sessions including hill training, nutrition workshops, track sessions at Grangemouth Stadium, paced pack runs, strength & conditioning and of course the Mini Olympics with the badminton players!
Support for the athletics camp came from the UK's leading supplier of gym equipment - Powerhouse Fitness - who very kindly donated t-shirts, bottles and carbohydrate drink mix for all the athletes and badminton players. They were also able to provide us with nutritional experts who delivered a talk to all the young runners.
All coaches and athletes left the camps thinking that this was an experience everyone would want to repeat. The attitude of all the athletes was outstanding and if they continue to train as hard as they did on the camp then it would be no surprise if some of them went on to represent Scotland at the Commonwealth Games in 2014!
Yonex Badminton Training Camps 2005
(Reports)
Camp A 10 - 13th August
Report by Caroline Oliver
Age 14
Dublin , Ireland
On our first day we all gathered at the lounge and Craig told us what we should expect at the camp. We met all the other players and had fun and games. We wrote our expectations of the camp on post-it notes and put them in balloons, which we thought was a good way of finding out what we all wanted from the camp. We realised that everyone had similar expectations. That day we trained and played matches. As we had to get up early the next morning we decided to go to bed early.
The next morning we woke up and prepared for our 7 am run! (As you can imagine everyone was full of life). After the run we had breakfast and then hit the training with Craig and Lena Robertson at Grangemouth Sports Centre and at the main hall right beside the accommodation. Our entire group from Ireland enjoyed the training a lot as we learned new skills and it was interesting later in the day when we had a psychology seminar with Deirdre Angella.
Everyday we trained hard and everyone put in as much effort as they could. During this we all had a great laugh and had some epic games.
On the last night we had great crack with a bit of karaoke, which the Irish took over with "Build me up buttercup", what a song!
The coaches were a good laugh and taught us a lot. We all made new friends and will keep in touch.
Your friends
The Irish
Camp A 10 - 13th August
Report by Emma Davies
Age 13
Norwich , England
I was nervous as my parents left ma at Carronvale House. I wondered what I had let myself in for. We had found out about the camps on the internet as we were going to Scotland for a holiday, so I decided to give it a try. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I was not so sure. It didn't take long though before I settled in with my new friend and room-mate. The rooms and the food were very good. There were children on the camp from England , Ireland and of course Scotland . It took me a while to understand all the accents and at first my room mate had to act as a translator, but soon I was in the swing of things. The camp had promised lots of badminton and lots of fun as well and that's exactly what we got. The coaches were all very friendly and it was a great experience for me and i am sure for all the other participants. As well as the coaching there were team games, badminton challenges and competitions amongst the groups, for example, trying to hit backhand serves into a basket. We were kept busy from early morning till late at night. There were a range of playing abilities on the camp, but it was organized very well and there were always players of similar standard to play against. I would recommend the camp to anyone who loves badminton. I'm already looking forward to next time.
Elite Camp 10th - 13th August
Report by Greg McClure
Age 15
Greenock , Scotland
The 3 rd Yonex badminton camp was held at Carronvale house and was led by Craig Robertson. I arrived at about 11am on the Wednesday morning with the delightful Craig waiting 2 greet me. We all knew the training was going to be hard but we knew that we could reap the benefits from training hard with all the world class coaches around us. The great group of athletes that we were, we knew we were going 2 get the best out of the opportunity and Craig even admitted that we were a pleasure 2 work with.
We all enjoyed the team games and banter the first day but we knew the running in the morning was going to be a hard task. 100% effort was expected from all. By breakfast it felt like lunchtime but we still had 3 grueling sessions left that day.
Through out Thursday and Friday Andrew Simpson was training with half the squad while top coaches like Alan Mcilvain and Julie Hogg came along and done some work with others also core stability expert David Bowmaker came in on Friday night to take a core stability session.
Friday wasn't all hard work we had team games in the afternoon which were a lot of fun. Also on Friday we had just back from Malaysia David Forbes and Stewart Kerr who were joining in with the games and showing us how they do it in Malaysia .
We were all sorry to see Saturday come but it was here we ended our morning runs with a well performed session by all. Then we had team games followed by a sad goodbye with a raffle.
