Speaker Isobel Grieve - RYLA

Tue, Nov 27th 2018 at 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm


Izzie Grieve, a 16-year-old pupil of Madras College in St Andrews is no stranger to the Rotary Club of Kilrymont St Andrews.

Along with her twin sister, Izzie regaled the Club’s Charter Dinner last year guests with a wide variety of musical entertainment. Between them, the sisters play piano, violin and saxophone and also sing rather well.

However, Izzie’s visit to this week’s meeting centred on her experience in July at an outward bound-style course near Nethybridge. She was sponsored by the Club for the week-long course as this year’s candidate for RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards).

With the aid of a well-constructed slide show, Izzie told of the many challenges she and 70 other sponsored young women from all over Scotland faced during their time in the north.

She was appointed as leader of a six-person team and had the prospect of leading them safely through all kinds of tests, including gorge walking, coasteering, cliff climbing, mountain biking, rafting and a variety of other events and sports.

Coasteering – similar to orienteering but sited on the Moray Firth coastline – was her favourite activity and involved scaling cliff walls and generally finding her way round the planned route.

On Loch Morlich near Aviemore, the teams were required to build a raft – and given only 40 minutes to do so – then pilot it round a part of the Loch. Rules meant that any raft which collapsed needed its builders complete the same route by swimming. Izzie was proud to report that her team’s raft remained intact and that the course supervisor reckoned it was the best raft he’d seen built in the 27 years the course had been running.

The course participants had little time to spare during the entire experience and completed the week with a hike up a Munro in the Cairngorms, abseiling (“Scary”, said Izzie!) then a day of sports activities.

She thanked the Club for giving her the opportunity to take part in such a worthwhile scheme which she was certain had increased her confidence and developed her communication skills and leadership qualities.

President John Spittal presented Izzie with the RYLA certificate marking a fine achievement.

Irene Walker thanked Izzie for what had been an extremely articulate and confident presentation and an entertaining illustration of a life-changing week.

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