Applications are now Closed
We’re off again ! Yes, that’s right – West Yorkshire County Scouts are taking a contingent of 32 young people to Canada at Easter 2024 for two weeks.
Successful applicants will be required to attend five training weekends during 2022/2023. (Cost included). Additional weekends or training days may be added for the ski lessons and specific activities.
Training weekends will incorporate activities such as skiing, walking, group management and some fun things to ensure everybody is fully prepared for their experience of a lifetime in Canada
Cost £2500 – payable in instalments throughout the 24 months.
Interested? Why not find out more? We’re visiting groups at the invitation of districts, so get in touch!
The experience is open to members of West Yorkshire Scouts aged between 14 and 24 on 23rd March 2024. We’re also looking for leaders aged 25+. So there’s something for everybody !
How do I apply ? download this application form and send to the email on the form.
Click here for flyer, click here for postcard
We’re taking applications for leaders and participants now !
Provisional Itinerary (this may be subject to change depending on flights and availability) to give a flavour of the types of activities…
Day 1 (Sun) – Fly London to Calgary and travel to Banff – Accommodation at the Banff HI and a trip to Tim Hortons in Cochrane
Day 2 (Mon) – Acclimatisation in Banff and visit Tunnel Mountain – Accommodation at the Banff HI
Day 3 (Tue) to 5 (Thur) – Skiing and Lessons at Norquay resort including a night out at the Spaghetti factory – Accommodation at the Banff HI
Day 6 (Fri) – Johnston Canyon & Travel to Calgary with overnight at the Calgary Scout HQ and activities with the Calgary Scouts
Day 7 (Sat) – Calgary Sightseeing with Canadian Scouts (COP, Saddle Dome, Tower) overnight at Calgary Scout HQ and activities with Calgary Scouts
Day 8 (Sun) – Winter Survival Day at Lost Lake and Easter egg Hunt
Day 9 (Mon) – Visit to Sulphur Mountain Banff Hot Springs – Accommodation at the Banff HI
Day 10 (Tue) – Skiing at Mount Sunshine– Accommodation at the Banff HI
Day 11 (Wed) – Snow sports at Lake Louise – Accommodation at the Banff HI
Day 12 (Thur) – Skiing at Mount Sunshine– Accommodation at the Banff HI
Day 13 (Fri) – Snow Tubing at Mt Norquay – Accommodation at the Banff HI
Day 14 (Sat) – Return to Calgary for overnight flight home
Day 15 (Sun) – Arrive UK and travel to Bradley Wood
Frequently Asked Questions :
Where and when will the trip be?
The Rocky Mountain Adventure will be held over Easter 2024 in Banff Canada. With provisional dates of 23rd March 2024 to 7th April 2024
Who can apply to go as a participant?
To apply to be a participant you must be born aged between 14 and 24 on 23rd March 2024.
What happens if I was born outside of these dates?
If you were born after these dates you should be eligible for the next County International trip. If you were born before these dates then we are looking for leaders aged 25+.
Can I join the expedition late or leave early? The unit will leave the UK and Return to the UK as a whole unit. It will not be possible to join late or leave early.
I have special needs / disabilities, can I still go? The ethos of the trip is that it should be open and accessible to everyone of the correct age. As a result, every effort will be made in to accommodate young people who are differently abled wherever and whenever reasonable adjustments are possible. This may be simple physical or environmental changes through to more complex adjustments. Whilst these can cover a wide range of requirements, obviously this is a very complex area. We would suggest that if you have any particular questions relating to personal adjustments then please contact us directly. Fundamentally, all participants on the trip, young person or leader, must be aware that it is a 2 week expedition, doing Winter Sports overseas, with a wide range of activities. It is loads of fun, but it will also be very tiring at times and can have an element of stress relating to logistics, cultural differences and time zones.
Can you accommodate special dietary requirements? A lot dietary requirements can reasonably easily be catered for, as long as you are prepared to be as flexible as possible. Dietary requirements based on religion, and for example Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten Free are routine. However all participants need to be aware that access to particular foods whilst travelling can be more challenging so a degree of flexibility is appreciated. Other dietary requirements will need more work to be achieved. If you have any concerns, then please contact the organiser.
How many places are there? West Yorkshire is taking 32 young people
Do I have to be a West Yorkshire Scout to apply? Yes, you must be a member of a West Yorkshire Scout Troop, West Yorkshire Explorer Unit or a West Yorkshire Young Leader to apply.
How much will the Trip cost?
The Cost is £2500 paid in instalments over 24 months. This includes training fees.
Are there any other costs not included above? There may be a few other items such as
- All participants will require an individual valid passport in their own name with 6 months expiry from date of return to the UK .
- Visa’s may be required for Canada.
- Compulsory and voluntary Vaccinations may be required for the countries being visited (including COVID).
- Some kit will be required (such as sleeping bags, mats, footwear etc.)
- Travel and transport to all training events and departure / return airport.
Am I allowed to fundraise to pay for the trip? Absolutely, we would encourage you to fundraise to help raise your fee, this can be an important part of your journey. In the past many participants have fundraised their entire fee. However, fundraising may be more difficult in the aftermath of Covid. Essentially, if you work hard at your fundraising, you are more likely to raise more. If you sit back and let others do it, you are less likely to raise the money. Fundraising can be done individually, in small groups, as part of an Explorer Unit / District.
Do the Trip Leaders help us Fundraise? The main role of the leaders is to form the Expedition Unit and help the unit bond and prepare for the expedition. They will help with fund raising ideas, and will encourage the unit to talk and chat about what is working, and what is not working for the members of the unit. The leaders may also be offered fund raising activities that they then share out to the unit, and of course, the leaders also need to raise their own funds as well. However, the leaders are NOT responsible to fund raise for you, or to organise any fundraising. Ultimately, this is down to you.
Will all of the people in the unit be from West Yorkshire? Yes
Will I know the people in my unit before we go? The unit is likely to be made up of Scouts and Explorers from across the County and you may not know many people at the start of the journey. However in the build up to the expedition you will have a number of training events to get to know your unit and many Scouts tell us that by the time they go on an expedition their unit become like a second family.
Do I need to use Social Media? Whilst it is not compulsory, you will get the most out of the unit team building by joining in on Social Media. The expedition will normally decide on one social media platform to use (can be a Facebook group, Whats App group etc.). Normally, there will be one social media channel which is supervised / monitored by the leader team. Participants then usually setup their own independent channels which are not monitored. Official Communication will be via E-mail and/or the one monitored Channel.
How many training weekends will there be, and do I have to go to them? West Yorkshire usually have a number of training events / weekends, usually around 5-6 but this will depend on the unit, and we will be looking for you to attend all of these so that the unit can bond together as a unit.
Where will the training weekends be? It will be down to the Unit Leadership team to decide on the locations. Most will be within West Yorkshire, but as we aim to try and prepare the units for what they will encounter in Country there may be some experiences outside of West Yorkshire.
Will the cost of travel to training weekends be included? No, it will be down to yourself to travel to / from the training weekends, but (subject to Covid restrictions lifting), sharing of transport is encouraged.
Will there be any Virtual Training? Depending on how quickly we return to normal, there may need to be some Virtual Training / unit meetings (most likely to happen in the beginning, but may be used if new or urgent information comes out).
How do I apply? Download the application form linked above and send to the email on the form (by the date on the form).
What about selection? Selection may be required if we are over subscribed.
Do I have to go to the selection weekend to get a place? Yes – whatever selection process is chosen, you must participant in that process to be selected as a participant.
Do I have to pay all of the money at the start? No, we stage payments to meet the commitments to pay suppliers and training weekends over the next two years. All participants will need to keep to this schedule.
Do I need to pay a deposit? If you are offered a place on the trip after the selection process, you will need to confirm your acceptance with a non-refundable deposit.
What happens if I need to withdraw after paying the deposit? Refunds of money paid will only be given if we can refill your place or recoup monies from suppliers, any refund will be less the non-refundable deposit, less the cost for training / equipment received or ordered, less the cost of changing names charged by suppliers, and any discount needed to be given to fill the place (potentially at short notice). If money has been fundraised, then under charity commission rules, we may need to return this money to the original source of the funds. If this is not possible (for example it was a bag pack), then it may need to be kept and used for a suitable comparable alternative purpose. Monies will be refunded in the following order (after costs)
- Any organisation Grants
- Any untraceable funds donated (such as bag packs) donated to West Yorkshire Scouts
- Any remaining funds returned to source
You may still need to pay money in to go towards refunding grants / cover costs. This is highlighted in a Terms and Conditions document you will sign after accepting your place.
What happens if I need to withdraw close to departure? We will always try very hard to re-fill the place, however, this may be very difficult – especially at short notice. Depending on the reason for withdrawal, there may be insurance cover (for instance, a broken bone or a major illness / death in immediate family). However, we reserve the right to insist on payment in full, even if you do not attend.
How will money for the trip be handled? All funds for the Jamboree will be paid to the County. We will issue instructions on this procedure later. No funds are to be paid to any Jamboree leader.
Can we claim gift aid on fundraising? Unfortunately, the trip does not qualify for gift aid, and therefore, no gift aid can be claimed / reclaimed for Jamboree payments / fundraising.
Can we claim any grants to attend the trip? Yes, there are a range of funds and grants that can be applied for.
- It is always worth approaching your Group / Explorer Unit / District, as they may have funds in place for this type of event.
- Other private trusts and organisations – Round Table, Rotary Club etc.
- Some companies do matched funding for employees
Some of the above are open to all, some can have restrictions (such as location, purpose, financial situation) etc.
Do I have to apply via my Group / District? no apply directly using the form.
Do I have to be a Scout? Yes – you must be a member of UK Scouting to attend. If you leave Scouting / stop being an active member of your Scout group / Explorer unit, your place may be withdrawn.
What is the trip management for West Yorkshire ? The Jamboree comes under the West Yorkshire Assistant County Commissioner (International) – Vicki Pearson. The trip will have a contigent leader (Twin) who will be in charge of the expedition.
What about GDPR? As a West Yorkshire County Scout event, data will be handled as described by the West Yorkshire County Scouts GDPR policy (available from the West Yorkshire Scouts Website). Central Data (such as application forms, selection planning) will be held on the West Yorkshire County Scouts GSuite account. Access will be limited to the West Yorkshire Scouts WysGlobal team, and the Expedition Leaders. Financial data will be held and processed in an accountancy system set up for this purpose. Data will be destroyed in various stages, up to 11 years after the last event (for instance general data could be 2 years, financial data will be destroyed after 7 years, medical / insurance information could be 11 years).
Will we be insured? We will organise the insurance for the expedition (usually through our Insurance arm – Unity). When we have details, we will forward this on to you.
What about Covid? The trip is over 2 years away, we are continuing on the basis that issues caused by Coronavirus will dissipate over the next 2 years. However, we are not able to predict the future and Covid may become an issue again. We will have to wait to see what Insurance can be put into place, but we think it would be fair to say it is unlikely that insurance for a Covid cancellation would be possible. If Covid were to become an issue, and withdrawal / cancellation occurs, then you will need to expect that it may not be possible to refund some or all of your monies paid due to factors outside of the direct control of West Yorkshire County Scouts / uninsurable situations.
Will I need any vaccinations? Quite possibly yes. You will need to have any vaccinations which are compulsory for the countries we are visiting. Unfortunately, we don’t know what these are at present. It is recommended (subject to your Doctors advice) to have your normal UK range of vaccinations.
Who has the final say? All places in the West Yorkshire expedition are granted by permission of the West Yorkshire County Commissioner. At any time, and for any reason, an individual’s place may be withdrawn by the County Commissioner. The financial consequences of this, will follow the What happens if I need to withdraw after paying the deposit.
