What a fantastic weekend at the Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs Competitions Weekend in Inverness!

Written by: Laura Patterson, Holestone YFC

"The last weekend in February saw myself and Octavia Wilson from A&M travel to Inverness for the Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs (SAYFC) Competitions Weekend.

We were warmly hosted throughout the weekend by SAYFC Travel Chair Mhairi Dalgliesh and Vice Chair Ellen Glennie. Their hospitality was outstanding and greatly appreciated.

We travelled to Inverness on Friday evening, checked into our accommodation, grabbed some food, and then headed to the Bowling Competition to kick off the weekend’s events. It was a competitive evening filled with both strikes and near misses. It was also fantastic to catch up with fellow young farmers and reconnect with clubs that my own club, Holestone, has previously exchanged with, including Crossroads and Forfar JAC. The evening concluded with a trip into Inverness city centre to socialise with members from across Scotland.

Saturday was a busy and exciting day. The morning began with the speech-making competitions, where the standard was exceptional and thoroughly enjoyable to watch. This was followed by the National Quiz Final — a challenging contest with impressive knowledge on display. Congratulations to Forfar JAC on taking the top spot.

In the afternoon, we headed to the football competition for a competitive and energetic 5-a-side tournament. After a quick reset at the hotel, we went for dinner before attending the Member of the Year results at the dance venue. Throughout the day, members from across the country had been interviewed by a judging panel to determine who would be crowned this year’s SAYFC Member of the Year. Congratulations to Louise Carr from Perthshire on receiving the title. Speaking to other members, it was clear there were many worthy candidates, making this a fantastic achievement.

Sunday morning began bright and early at the mixed 7-a-side hockey tournament. It was great to see how the competition was organised, and I am hopeful we can take some inspiration from it for our upcoming YFCU hockey competition.

Overall, the weekend was a tremendous success and one I would highly recommend to anyone. A sincere thank you to SAYFC for the invitation, a special mention to Mhairi and Ellen for their exceptional hospitality, and to all SAYFC members who made Octavia and myself feel so welcome throughout the weekend".