Youth weekend 2003 has come and gone. For those of you who missed a great weekend, here is a little taster to encourage you to go next year. For the 150 or so that came along a little reminder of what you, and we experienced…

The first task we set ourselves was to think of a theme for the weekend, and then start organising our activities around it. We realised that one important item missing for a lot of young (and not so young) pioneers, is the knowledge of what the pioneer association can offer them - this must change! We therefore set about arranging a timetable that would offer this information to them. We entitled the weekend the "Bigger Picture", as we wanted to highlight the different aspects of the association.

We searched all over Ulster for a suitable venue, and after some consideration, it was decided that we would host the weekend in Ballyhaise Agricultural College, Co. Cavan. A price was set, posters printed, and the advertising campaign began. Finally, after months of preparation, August was upon us. Were we ready? Almost! The week leading up to the 8th was a long one - timetable and speakers confirmed, folders were organised, and booklets printed. With about 3 hours left we decided to sleep!

The finishing touches were put in place on Friday morning and delegates started to arrive. The tedious job of registration started and the weekend was officially opened just after 6pm by Su-Zann, with the help of our first speakers. We heard words of encouragement from Bishop Leo O'Reilly, Bishop of Kilmore, Sean Coll, president of the Pioneer Association, and Padraic Naughton, CEO. We were delighted to have the support from Central Office, but especially from Padraic as this was his first youth weekend. Groups were separated and leaders appointed. These groups would then be used during the workshops and games throughout the weekend. Each activity during the weekend allowed the groups to earn points, and at the end of the weekend the overall winning group would be presented with a prize.

With the speeches and formalities over, we moved onto the first of our 'Pioneer' activities - the All-Ireland Sports competitions. As this year's final is being hosted by Leinster, we asked Dermot Fagan and Chris Clarke to explain how the competition works. Following this, we held some quick competitions in three of the four sports - Badminton, Basketball and Soccer. Following the games the entertainment activities commenced with the Rose and Escort Competition. This competition has been held during previous youth weekends, and we felt that is was a tradition that should live on. We randomly picked 12 girls and 12 boys from the applications we had received. These 24 young people were invited to take part before the weekend arrived, so they would be well prepared, and indeed they were. As the group entered, they were cheered to the stage, and then individually interviewed - The Roses by the Ulster Activities Chairperson, John McEnroe, and the Escorts by Su-Zann Scott, the Ulster Youth Chairperson. A number of them gave us a display of their talents, e.g. singing, dancing and even football skills! After all were interviewed, an audience vote decided on who should be awarded the title "Ulster Rose 2003". After a quick count, the winner was Dolores Reilly from Carrigallen and her escort. As the congratulations were offered, and photographs were taken, the DJ got the nights disco underway, and that was the activities over for Friday.

Breakfast came early Saturday morning. Those who had gone to bed the night before looked refreshed and ready for a new day. Those who stayed up to party seemed tired, but happy! The day got moving with a talk from members of the Spirituality Committee - one of the bodies within the association. Sean Coll returned to lead this workshop with the help of Maura Gray. It could be seen that they put a lot of preparation into the workshop, and those who attended certainly benefited from their hard work. A number of games of "Quickdraw" and "Giant Twister" then followed.

Shane Kitson continued the programme by giving those attending his perspective of the 'drug free' environment within our prison system. This was followed with the second of our 'Pioneer' activities - the Leisure Readoirí and Quiz competitions. Ciaran explained the rules of the Readoiri, and explained that we would be holding a readoiri competition on Sunday morning, and each group was expected to have an entry. Gary then explained the format of the quiz competitions, and held a quick table quiz. Again the winner group earned points.

Table Football was next on the agenda. Here we tried to play a life-size game of the popular indoor game. Instead of two people playing with miniature models, we arranged everyone in lines between a set of goalposts, and added a football! Players were not to move forward or backwards, and had to hold their teammates hands at all times, chains were broken, cheating occurred but all in all everyone enjoyed the game and if goals weren't scored it didn't matter - we enjoyed trying!

Our next speaker, Sheena O'Brien then took the stage. Sheena works for a group in the 'Cavan Centre'. They are a group that deals with drug-affected families, and gave an interesting insight to their work. Afterwards the delegates returned outside to enjoy more of the entertainment we had organised. This consisted of some fun activities - tug-o-war and jelly eating competitions, pillow fighting and a giant bouncy castle. To round these activities off a treasure hunt was given, where teams of four were given 19 cryptic clues, and sent on a trail to solve the riddles. Enough to tire everyone out before the nights entertainment - a ceilí band followed by a disco which brought the second day to a close.

After breakfast on Sunday morning, we kicked off with a game called Mallet's Mallet. Here contestants from each group were placed head to head and given a topic. They, in turn, had to say a word, which related to the topic, but could have not been said previously. The first to miss a word, or repeat one already mentioned, they were eliminated by means of the Mallet (- a 2½" foam mallet.) After the groups had been reduced to a winner, the organising committee took on the National Youth committee in a similar competition. The NYC gang were annihilated 5-1; our only casualty was our quick talking Donegal man!

Following our chaotic start to the day, we resumed the Readoiri competition. Here we got to watch some of the delegates display their talents. Hopefully we will see some of these new talents appear on stage in next year's Readoirí competitions!

Our final speaker, Tony Fitzpatrick, explained the effects of alcohol abuse on our emergency services. Tony works for the Irish Nurses Organisation, and has seen first hand, the cases that populate the Accident and Emergency rooms at the weekends. Some of those attending were surprised by the statistics he gave, and the ages of those effected!

Fr. Paddy Brady then celebrated a very enjoyable mass. It took place in the main hall and was attended by all the delegates and a number of local pioneers. After lunch a number of presentations were awarded and Su-Zann thanked all for attending the weekend. It was time to pack up, tidy our rooms and say our goodbyes. The weekend was now officially over and things had to return to normal. The buses were all that had to arrive. Things were quiet again. Out of the 150 attending only the organising committee and a few helpers were left. Back to how we started, but with a renewed sense of commitment, a new outlook on our association and indeed on about the real reason we ourselves are pioneers.

We enjoyed putting the weekend together, hosting you, talking to you and learning as much from you as you learned from us. Thanks for a great weekend from the Ulster Youth Committee!

There are plenty more photographs you can check out. Just look in our Photograph section.

Or you can have a look at the webpage of the weekend .