27 Feb Lots of Fundee in Dundee!
Last weekend SAYFC headed to the bright lights of Dundee for their annual “National Competitions Weekend”. A jam packed couple of days with 7 different competitions saw members from Orkney to Reston compete.
First up on Friday night, getting the ball rolling was National 10 Pin Bowling. With 15 teams entered 10Pin Dundee was the place to be with many strikes and knockouts happening alley to alley. The final results are as follows:
1st Place: Crossroads YFC (Jane Strawhorn, David Smith, Callum Steel, Scott Anderson, Craig Baird & Alex Drummond)
2nd Place: Peeblesshire JAC (Ryan Brotherstone, Sean Brotherstone, Iain Wallace, Jaz Swinton, Craig Brown and Katie McGregor)
3rd Place: Carluke YFC (Hazel Parlett, Christina Young, Robbie Gray, Frazer Douglas, Andrew Jackson, Graeme Hall)
To get things started on Saturday was our National Senior Speechmaking Final. With 9 teams all fighting for the top spot our judging panel had the biggest debate of who would be crowned winners. Our judges, Andy Peddie, Sarah Millar and Rachel Anderson praised all the clubs for the dedication, hard work and for taking the competition to such a high standard. A very big thank you to all the stewards who helped keep the competition running as smoothly as possible; Fraser Graham, Michael Rolfe, Colin Mckinnon, Lois Scott, Louise Greenhill and Janelle Anderson. Thank you must also go to the audience who’s support for these competitions is also greatly appreciated.Β The final results are as follows:
1st Place: Crossroads YFC (Scott Anderson, Fiona Cuthbertson, David Smith & Andrew Taylor)
3rd Place: Avondale YFC (Annie Bryson, Lucy Fleming, Caroline Hamilton& Ann Fleming)
Best Chair Outwith Winning Team: Jillian Kennedy, Aberfeldy & District JAC
Best Panel Member Outwith Winning Team: Anna McDiarmid, Aberfeldy & District JAC & Lucy Fleming, Avondale YFC
Best Overall Speaker: Fiona Cuthbertson, Crossroads YFC
Making our way to the kitchens was next on our competition agenda for The National Ready Steady Country Cooks competition. With four teams taking to the final it was going to be cooking showdown! With their 1 hour time limit Beith YFC, Vale OF Alford YFC, Halkirk YFC and Reston JAC took on the challenge to produce a delicious meal from a bag of mystery ingredients. Judges, Alison Beattie and Lynne Howe took their time and judged all the teams on their technical skills as well as team work and most importantly the taste, texture and flavor of their dish. This competition was very kindly support by The Batch Lady who passed on her congratulations to our winners. The final results are as follows:
Overall winners: Halkirk YFC (Lyndsey & Abbie Dunnet)
Kicking off the afternoon proceedings was the hotly anticipated National 5 A Side Football Tournament. 10 teams headed to SoccerWorld, Dundee with chief steward Colin Mckinnon while umpires Andrew Wyllie and Scott KyddΒ kept all the games running smoothly. The final results are as follows:
1st Place: Kilmaurs YFC (Glen Smith, Andrew Nisbet, Jack Reid, Lee Hill, Ross Torrance & Taylor Holloway)
2nd Place: Lesmahagow YFC (Stuart Armstrong, Scott Bell, Fraser Russel, James Barr, Daniel Goulding, Dylan Taylor, James Leggate, Robert Armstrong)
3rd Place: Crossroads YFC (Craig Hodge, Gavin Shearer, Zach Toye, Rory Scott, Craig Baird, Stuart Leitch, David Smith & Scott Anderson)
Testing everyone’s knowledge was our National Senior Quiz final. Keith & District YFC, Bankfoot JAC, Bower YFC, Carluke YFC, Aberfeldy & District JAC, West Fife YFC and Crossroads YFC all went head to head in the ultimate test of knowledge. With questions ranging from who won the current season of Love Island to who is the current Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs our members had their fingers on the buzzers and were ready to jump in with answers. A very big thank you must go to Lizzie McJanet and Andrew Hamilton who kindly took the time to write up all the questions and to National Vice Chair, Ally Brunton who acted as question master on the day. The final results are as follows:
1st Place: Crossroads YFC (Fiona Cuthbertson, David Smith, Callum Steel & Rebecca Newland)
2nd Place: Carluke YFC (Jack Young, Andrew Jackson, Robbie Gray & Mhairi Hall)
3rd Place: Keith and District YFC (Michael Stronach, Aimee Stronach, Brodie Bain & Abbie McGillivray)
Rounding off our Super Saturday of competitions was our National Member Of The Year final. Judges, Gemma Bruce and Sheena & David Munroe had the challenging task of interviewing all 11 finalists. Our finalists were:
Ayrshire: Fiona Cuthbertson
Lanarkshire: Jack Young
Clyde & Central: Robbie Dick
Dumfries & Galloway: Abby Forsyth
Border Fed: Toni Hope
Lothian & Peebles: Sophie McCarlie
Fife & Kinross: Rebecca Low
Perthshire: Anna McDiarmid
Angus Tayside: Jordan Barclay
East Aberdeenshire: Andrew Frank
West Aberdeenshire: Angela Webster
Congratulations to our final winners:
1st Place: Abby Forsyth, Stewartry YFC
2nd Place: Jordan Barclay, Strathmore JAC
3rd Place: Jack Young, Carluke YFC
Abby had this to say of her achievement:
βIn all honesty, words canβt even describe how I am feeling right now! It is an absolute honour and a privilege to be crowned National Member of the Year. I would not be the person I am today without SAYFC, and I am so thankful for the experiences and opportunities I have had. The best organisation ever!β
To round off our National Competitions weekend was our rescheduled Mixed Hockey Final.Β 8 teams headed along to Riverside Playing Pitches on Sunday morning to see who would finally be crowned national hockey champions 2024.Β Another very big thank you must go to Michael Robertson and Morag Hickey for umpiring the games and keeping everyone in check. The final results are as follows:
1st Place: Ayrshire Yellow (Harry Bell, Callum Steel, Jack Reid, Jordan Bell, Andrew Nisbet, Amy Scott, Lucy Nelson, Georgia Brown & Emily Bird)
2nd Place: Ayrshire Pink (Craig Baird, David Smith, Scott Anderson, Robert Clark, Lyndsay Frew, Antonia Craig, Katie scott & Glen Smith)
3rd Place: Strathearn JAC (Emily Dawson, Ewan Aitken, Jack Simpson, Ewan McLaren, Beth Stirling, Emma McGregor, James Sharp, Shula Blues, Angus Harrower & Ailsa Harrower)
Well done to all competitors taking part this weekend, you are all a credit to SAYFC and thank you to everyone who supported our competitions weekend in Dundee. National Chair, Jane Strawhorn said on the event:
βCompetitions weekend is often a highlight for our members from across the country and Dundee proved to be no different. The weekend was even more jam packed than usual but that didnβt dampen the spirits of our members who came out in force, whether they were competing or just simply there to have a good time! Iβd like to congratulate all of our competitors especially our newly crowned Member of the Year, Abby Forsyth and our winning senior speechmaking team from Crossroads as well as all of our other winners. You are all a credit you your clubs, districts, regions and of course, the organisation as a whole.β