BRITISH Blind Sport gave students an opportunity to have fun playing sport while enhancing leadership skills, at an event hosted by the Royal National College for the Blind.

The Young Leader Camps allowed pupils to play a range sports including goalball, tandem cycling, cricket and hugby – a version of rugby specifically altered for visually impaired people whereby players are ‘hugged’ instead of tackled.

Leamington based charity, British Blind Sport held their National Young Leader Camp recently for 30 blind and partially sighted young people at the Hereford college.

The National Young Leader Camp is part of British Blind Sport’s See My Voice project, which was recently nominated in the Top 10 Sports Projects for the National Lottery Awards 25th Anniversary year.

The camp is specifically designed to give young people aged between 10 and 20 and living with sight loss, the opportunity to have fun, play sports and make new friends, whilst developing key leadership and employability skills through a qualification accredited by Sports Leaders UK.

In addition, all those attending are supported to deliver sport sessions, demonstrating their newly developed leadership skills and confidence.

“What I’ve enjoyed most about the camp is that it’s very inclusive. Nobody’s left out!” said a Young Leader.

Whilst working towards their leadership qualification, Young Leaders were asked to make a pledge to volunteer over the next year, using the new skills they have developed.

One young person said: “The thing I’ve enjoyed most about the camp would be the sports.

"But also, I quite liked doing the work! We got a deeper understanding of the sport industry, and everyone needed to be a volunteer, from accounting to registering participants in races.”

British Blind Sport will be holding the next National Young Leaders Camp during Easter 2020, welcoming back returning Young Leaders as well as fresh faces, eager to develop skills and learn new sports.

For more information contact Lijana on 01926 424247.