A Stupendous Stirling Weekend

28 Feb A Stupendous Stirling Weekend

Over the weekend, members the length and breadth of Scotland travelled to Stirling to compete and connect at our annual “National Competitions Weekend” Supported by New Holland Agriculture. Here’s a full run down of all the action from the weekend.

Tenpin Bowling

We kickstarted the weekend as always with National 10 Pin Bowling. Young Farmers filled the lanes of the Stirling Hollywood Bowl bringing the place to life with the sound excited chatter and falling pins. At the end of an enjoyable evening of competition the results were as follows:

1^st Place – Lesmahagow YFC (Craig Armstrong, Fraser Russell, Scott Bell, Dylan Taylor, Jake Triggs, Fiona Currie, Jenna Rollo

2^nd Place – Crossroads YFC (Callum Steel, Craig Cochrane, Logan Hendrie, Callum Brown, Jane Strawhorn, Scott Anderson

3^rd Place – East Kilbride YFC (James Hair, Ian King, Joe Ritchie, John Gardiner, Daniel Livingstone, Lia McLaughlin

King Pin – Joe Ritchie, East Kilbride YFC

Senior Speechmaking (Supported by Dales LLP)

Saturday began bright and early with our National Senior Speechmaking Final. It was a smaller group of competing teams this year, but the quality was exceptional.

Judge Keith Maxwell praised the high standard of speakers on the day:

“I thought the standard on Saturday was amazing. The first chairman on was exceptional and set the standard for the whole day. There were no poor speakers and everyone did very well. I would encourage everyone to take part in this competition as it is a great thing to be able to stand up and speak up in front of an audience.”

Keith was joined by Anna Sloan and John Howie on the judging panel and Question Masters Julie Clark and James Gemmell.

A very big thank you to all the stewards who helped keep the competition running as smoothly as possible and thanks must also go to the audience who’s support for these competitions is also greatly appreciated. The final results are as follows:

1^st Place – Biggar YFC (Gavin Robertson, David Mitchell, Lucy Graham)

2^nd Place – Avondale YFC (Ann Fleming, Lucy Fleming Sarah Whitelaw)

3^rd Place – Kilmaurs YFC (Karen Shepherd, Cara Gilbert, Lynn Smith)

 

Best Chair Outwith Winning Team –  Cara Gilbert, Kilmaurs YFC

Best VOT Outwith winning team – Laura Hunter, Carluke YFC

Best Speaker Outwith winning team – Lucy Fleming, Avondale YFC

Best Overall Individual – Cara Gilbert, Kilmaurs YFC

David Mitchell from Biggar recognized the effort that goes in to creating a winning speechmaking performance:

“It’s a credit to the team’s hard work and the trainers’ dedication over the years, made all the sweeter by becoming the first Biggar team to take the title.”

 

Country Cooks (Supported by Taylors Snacks)

Just down the corridor from the Speechmaking, a different group of contestants were busy whipping up a dazzling culinary display in our Country Cooks kitchen. Judges Mary Inglis and Mary Ferguson were thoroughly impressed by the skills and imagination on display as our pairs planned and prepared delicious dishes for them to taste.

In the end it was the sibling duo from Kilmaurs YFC- Karen and Iain Shepherd- who took top spot and claimed this year’s grand prize of a 6-month supply of Taylors Crisps! Their winning dish consisted of an Onion Bhaji starter followed by a main of Pork Schnitzel (with a Taylors Crisps crumb), Mash Potato, Yorkshire Pudding and Gravy finishing with a Raspberry and Chocolate Sponge Tart with Custard as their dessert.

Coming a close second were Lyndsey Dunnet & Erin McGuire of Halkirk YFC, and our third-place team on the day were Eilidh Davidson & Isobel Short from Strichen JAC.

Congrats to all our brilliant Country Cooks and thanks again to our judges, stewards and sponsors.

Winning Cook Karen Shepherd who had her hands full with 3 National finals throughout the day had this to say about the competition:

“Country Cooks has always been one of my favourite competitions to compete in as it really tests your creativity and how you cope under pressure. It has been an honour to win it this year with brother and we both loved the dishes that we managed to create in the final.”

1^st Place – Karen and Iain Shepherd, Kilmaurs YFC

2^nd Place – Lyndsey Dunnet & Erin McGuire, Halkirk YFC

3^rd Place – Eilidh Davidson & Isobel Short, Strichen JAC

 

Senior Quiz

After the Speechmaking had concluded, our members’ mental knowledge was then put to the test in our National Quiz Final. 6 teams battled through waves of tricky questions on a variety of topics contributed by our question compilers Jane and Martin Kennedy. The competition went right down to the wire, with three teams closing in on first place in the final buzzer round.

Eventually, it was the team from Crossroads YFC who managed to retain their title and the National Quiz trophy. Having been pushed to the end by a flurry of quickfire answers by second place Kilmaurs YFC and the team from Forfar JAC in third place.

Well done to all our clever competitors. Thanks to our quiz masters and question compilers.

1^st Place – Crossroads (Scott Anderson, Callum Steel, Rebecca Newlands, Gavin Shearer)

2^nd Place –  Kilmaurs (Karen Shepherd, Emma Shanks, Adam Smith, Lynn Smith)

3^rd Place – Forfar (Lois Scott, Glen Barclay, Mark Ogg, Alistair McCarthy)

 

Five-Aside Football

Outside the quiz hall, the action was just beginning as teams from across Scotland entered the football cages, each one vying to be National champions. The tournament was fiercely contested on the day with both Semi Finals and our Final ending in tense penalty shoot-outs.

But it was the team from Mauchline YFC who held their nerve to clinch the title, with their goalkeeper who had already produced some impressive stops stepping up to slot the final penalty home. East Kilbride YFC took a well fought second place and Kilmaurs YFC added to their impressive day of National achievements with third.

Well done to all players on the day and thanks to our umpires Andrew Dixon and Colin McKinnon for keeping them in check.

1^st Place – Mauchline (Neil Hodge, Gavin Kirkland, Murray Sloan, David Howat, Robert Clark, Kerr Sloan)

2^nd Place – East Kilbride (Joe Ritchie, Andrew Brown, Sean Cairney, Murray Steel, Jamie Cocker, Ian King, Jamie Baird, Daniel Livingstone)

3^rd Place – Kilmaurs (Jack Reid, Andrew Nisbet, Lee Hill, Kyle Kirkland, Glen Smith, Sandy Craig)

 

Member of the Year

Rounding off our Super Saturday of competitions was our National Member Of The Year final. Judges, Alistair Borthwick and Alison and George Stirling had the challenging task of interviewing all 11 finalists. Alistair summed up the experience, noting the strength of our pool of finalists:

“I had a great afternoon meeting all the wonderful candidates for member of the year. It was a great privilege hearing all about each competitor’s experience in SAYFC at club, district and national and all the drive and enthusiasm they displayed for the movement.

The winners were great role models, and I was impressed with their dedication and innovation towards recruitment and adaptability to retain new members.”

Those finalists were:

Angus Tayside- Glen Barclay

Ayrshire- Heather Thom

Border Federation- Katherine Forster

Caithness- Jak Murray

Clyde & Central- Robbie Dick

Dumfries & Galloway- Ailsa Buchanan

East Aberdeenshire- Angus Riddoch

Lanarkshire- Emily Craig

Lothian & Peeblesshire- Rupert Kinch

Perthshire- Katrina Kennedy

West Aberdeenshire- Callum Simpson

 

Congratulations to our final winners:

1^st place – Ailsa Buchanan, Stranraer & Rhins YFC

2nd place – Glen Barclay, Forfar JAC

3rd place – Heather Thom, Ayr YFC

Ailsa had this to say of her achievement:

‘I still can’t quite believe the result from Saturday night but it is a night I will remember forever! Winning National Member of the Year is a huge honour and was made even more special by being presented by Abby and bringing it back to D&G again! 

I am so grateful to the past and present members of Stranraer & Rhins YF for being so welcoming and encouraging me to give pretty much everything & anything a go over the past 10 years! SAYFC has something for everyone, and I’ve loved every minute of attending competitions and social events alike. 

From speechmaking to sports, handicrafts to stockjudging and everything else in between the opportunities are endless and I would encourage everyone to just give them a shot – you never know what hidden talents you might find out about! Young farmers has also provided me with an opportunity to make connections and life-long friends across the country, something I will always be reflect back on with happy memories. I am excited to see what else I can get up to as a member of YF over the next few years!’

Hockey

To cap off our National Competitions Weekend our members braved the rain for Sunday’s National Hockey finals. Despite the unpleasant conditions, the players put in their all and really showed that our Young Farmers are made of some tough stuff.

Our winners on the day were Ayrshire Red, retaining the title for the district. Second place were East Kilbride, who placed in all of our sporting competitions this weekend and third place, after a tense final penalty flick shoot out, went to Strathearn .

Amazing effort from everyone who came out to play on a rainy Sunday in Stirling. Thanks to our umpires Marion hunter and Liz Milroy and our stewards who performed their duties admirably in the adverse conditions.

1^st Place- Ayrshire A – Jordan Bell, Harry Bell, Calum Simmonds, Lyndsay Frew,  Amy Scott, Andrew Nisbet, Katie Scott

2^nd Place- East Kilbride – James Hair, Jack McKinna, Jamie Baird, Jamie Cocker, Ian King, Zoe Cuthbertson, Jan King, Kirsty Craig, Emily Craig

3^rd Place- Strathearn –  Ewan Aitken, Ewan McLaren, Angus Harrower, James Sharp, Jack Simpson, Emma McGregor, Ailish, Eadington, Emily Dawson, Ailsa Harrower, Megan Allen

 

It was another fantastic weekend of competition this year and all our competing members represented the association brilliantly and more importantly did themselves and their clubs proud. We would like to give a final thanks to the staff, stewards, judges and umpires who’s hard work made this weekend possible and we’ll leave you with a final wrap up from our National Chair, Ally Brunton:

“Competitions weekend 2025: What a weekend from start to finish! A huge thank you must go to all of the sponsors that make the weekend possible. It was great to see so many members make the effort to be there, to compete and support. Finally, a massive well done to all of our winners over the weekend, and to our new National Member of the Year 2025 Ailsa Buchanan from Dumfries and Galloway!.”