The Leeds Rhinos Foundation and Irwin Mitchell Solicitors are proud to once again launch the highly successful and hugely inspiring Outdoor Adventure Scheme for 2015 taking 40 junior rugby players from community clubs in Leeds to Carlton Lodge Outdoor Centre in Thirsk, North Yorkshire.
General Manager for the Leeds Rhinos Foundation Davide Longo was joined by Peter Morris from sponsors Irwin Mitchell Solicitors, Chief Executive Officer for Carlton Lodge David Sharp along with Leeds Rhinos Stars Kallum Watkins and Stevie Ward at the launch of the event this week at Leeds Rugby Academy.
The scheme, now in its 5th year, is once again sponsored by Irwin Mitchell Solicitors along with a generous donation from Gill and Geoff Caplan and will take place for the first time at the outdoor recreation specialists Carlton Lodge Outdoor Centre in Thirsk, set in 12 acres of land boasting its own lake and climbing wall.
The trip taking place from 31st August to the 4th September, will send 40 teenagers from community clubs in the Leeds and District area to experience a host of outdoor activities such as: bouldering, climbing, gorge walking, kayaking, raft building, high ropes, archery, catapult building and caving along with a series of team building and problem solving activities.
The Outdoor Adventure scheme, which has been based in the last two years at Aberdovey in Wales and Wooley Edge in Wakefield, is designed to help young people realise their true potential through reflecting on and learning from adventurous experiences in the wild, offering experiences to young people who may not have been offered these opportunities otherwise, in a bid to raise confidence, self-esteem and give them the chance to try something new.
Community Clubs Development Officer Sam Horner along with staff from the Leeds Rhinos Foundation will support staff from the centre throughout the week as they navigate the full week of activities, with Leeds Rhinos Head Coach Brian McDermott joining the trip later in the week to help inspire the group with a motivational talk.
The offer of taking part in the week went out to club ambassadors who were asked to volunteer their players who they thought most deserved the chance to go on the trip with as many as 10 different clubs all represented on the trip due to set off on Saturday morning.
Leeds Rhinos Foundation General Manager, Davide Longo commented on the success of the partnership with Irwin Mitchell over the last 5 years through the Outdoor Adventure initiative:
“Irwin Mitchell have been a supporter of the event now for the last 5 years and it’s important to us as a Foundation that we look to help all children and young people from across Leeds and it’s obviously paramount that we help them learn some wider skills in terms of their personal development, it’s not just about the rugby league in our eyes, it’s about teaching children new skills which they can use in later life.
“But that is also what Rugby League is all about, it’s about playing a sport that is undoubtedly one of the hardest in the world to play, but at the end of it we all shake hands and we are all friends together and it’s that emphasis that is certainly going to be encouraged throughout the week at Carlton Lodge. The children are going to be learning a lot of different skills, but the main ethos is about respect and respecting each other and the environments that they come from.”
Peter Morris from Irwin Mitchell Solicitors commented:
“At Irwin Mitchell we’ve been very proud sponsors of the Leeds Rhinos Foundation for quite a while now and I am personally very proud to be a trustee of the Foundation and this Outdoor Adventure initiative has been something we have supported for a number of years. For us it works on a number of levels, it’s great for the kids and it’s great to be able to send so many kids, some of whom wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to do some things and really push and challenge themselves, which is what the Foundation is all about, changing lives through sport.
David Sharp from Carlton Lodge said:
“We really proud to be involved in this year’s Outdoor Adventure week, it’s our first year so really exciting for us, to get involved with the Leeds Rhinos Foundation on a project working with us is fantastic and of course thanks to Irwin Mitchell for their support and sponsorship, it’s a brilliant thing that they are doing.
“In terms of us as an outdoor centre, we are based in Thirsk with 12 acres of land with our own lake, so we have lots of activities we can do on site, but on top of that, we have our own residential accommodation and I think that’s where a lots of the really good work takes place.
“That social interaction with the kids, bringing them from different clubs is a really good ideas as it builds the camaraderie and team building and it works really well particularly with an age group likes this, because they need to understand that they can be the opposition but they can also be friends as well.”
Interviews from the launch can be seen in the video below: