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TrailBlazers Camp Blog
TrailBlazers Camp
From 19-21 October, a small group of Invicta TrailBlazers went to the very first TrailBlazers Camp at Osmington Bay in Weymouth.
TrailBlazers is a programme started by adventure athlete and social media personality Sophie Radcliffe. Beginning as a personal mission to empower teenage girls, she has spent the last year creating and delivering seminars, speeches and assemblies to students in and around London and the south east. The focus is on confidence, resilience and inspiring teenage girls to step out of their comfort zones, embrace their fears and rise to whatever challenges stand in their way. In short, to blaze their own trail, hence TrailBlazers.
The TrailBlazers camp was the first of its kind and the bringing together of the very first girls to undertake the programme. Held at Osmington Bay near Weymouth, a coastal setting with stunning views of the South Coast, Chesil Beach and the seemingly endless ocean, and with the best late October weather we’ve seen for many a year, inspiration levels were already high. And, that was before we’d even parked the minibus!
Even though the TrailBlazers were there for only 48 hours in total, it felt like so much had been achieved in that time. Students were greeted by a compassionate and supportive team; from Sophie herself to Julie and Ali from the Youth Sports Trust (the charity with the vision to see the importance of the programme) the support crew from PGL and a number of athlete mentors, ranging from kickboxing champions, to championship sprinters, to XGames inline skating champions. Each had their own story of adversity and challenge to inspire the girls, but they also had heaps of compassion in abundance. The message of the weekend being, “you are not alone, when you challenge yourself, we are right beside you.”
A combination of activities gave the girls the opportunity to realise the truth in this message and within two days, the group had gone from a nervous bunch of teenagers, unsure in how to communicate with people they’ve never met, to people you’d have thought had been friends all their lives. Through physical activities like Jacob’s Ladder and the Drop Swing, beach walk and camp fire, the importance of getting active and being outside with a group of supportive people really sunk in. But not only that, the opportunities to directly address ways to think about challenge, how to face down fears and being open with others about insecurities, made it clear that compassion and kindness to others will not only inspire them, but help you too. On the final day, we all got up early to watch the sun rise. An amazing experience made all the more fantastic for the bonds forged in challenge only hours before.
Thank you Sophie Radcliffe and the YST for making it happen.
Lola's Trailblazers Blog
Trailblazers for us means so many amazing things. Its value is really special, the courage, friendship and happiness it has brought us is like nothing else. It began with the adventure athlete/ blogger/ speaker Sophie Radcliffe coming to our school to give us a session. Soon enough we made lasting friendships and opened up to people who we never thought we would have; a second session came by and we began to plan a TrailBlazer adventure where we could bond as a unit and improve our communication and positivity.
The plan was to do a school sleepover and all set ourselves individual challenges, whether it to be making a new friend or trying something new. Sophie’s ethos is ‘One life; live it’ and we could all agree how important that was to carry through into our day to day lives. The school sleepover and ice skating was really successful. We were beginning to realise what a powerful thing Sophie had created, a community of trailblazers. Before joining trailblazers in year nine, I didn’t know any of the girls and now I have such strong friendships and a more positive attitude to each day that comes.
From the 19th- 21st October, we attended the very first TrailBlazer adventure camp in Weymouth, Devon and it was honestly one of the best experiences in my life. 50 girls from the 5 other schools that Sophie has worked with were invited, and over the three days we made so many new friendships. Our activities were many and varied, but they were all special opportunities to challenge our comfort zones or bond with new friends. From watching the sunrise, walking along the beach, campfire songs and huge physical challenges it was amazing. Inspiring talks about our futures were an amazing touch. TrailBlazers has done so much for my confidence and resilience in difficult situations and times, and I’m so grateful.
- Lola 10V
Maisie's Trailblazers Blog
The TrailBlazers trip was great fun but it was also a great challenge. We had a chance to meet new people from different areas of the South East, including London and Brighton. Everyone was very kind and understanding, since we all had an idea of what everyone else was going through. Everyone was a bit nervous and anxious.
By combining everyone’s strengths and weaknesses, such as being shy or being overly-chatty, we were all able to complement each other’s personalities, start to communicate and eventually relax and have a fun and meaningful time. While working in our groups, we were able to find out information about each other and how we all may struggle, and also how we can find ways to be confident or resilient even in the worst of times.
Our instructors and group leaders made sure nobody was left out, that everyone had a chance to be heard in the group and had a chance to speak. By the end, everyone was chatting and having fun without feeling judged or left out and it was so hard to say goodbye to everyone when we left. It was truly a one in a lifetime experience that will never be forgotten.
Maisie 10I
