Beith and District YFC is located in North Ayrshire, on the west coast of Scotland, incorporating members from Irvine, West Kilbride, and throughout the Garnock Valley. The club dates back to 1940 and supports around 30-40 active members.
Beith and District YFC recently won the Ayrshire County Rally Holehouse Trophy for the best small club for the first time since the trophy’s inception in 1967. This is a great achievement for this small Ayrshire club which looks forward to gaining many more awards in the coming year as it prepares to celebrate its 85th anniversary in 2025.
MORE NEWS | Cerys Seaton on leading Beith YFC and organising events
Winning the Holehouse Trophy has always been at the forefront of the club’s mind when the Ayrshire County Rally takes place in May each year. This year, the club encouraged as many members as possible to participate in all rally competitions.
Many certificates were earned in competitions leading up to the rally and on the day itself, club members were awarded red rosettes in the mock auction and valuation, clay pigeon shooting, and boys’ tug-of-war. The hard work put in by all members really paid off, and the club is extremely proud of them.
Following their rally achievement, the club has many other events and meetings throughout the year.
Beith and District YFC aims to cater for all, ensuring there is something for everyone. Members are particularly looking forward to the exchange weekend which this year is with Harray YFC on Orkney and with the current SAYFC National Club of the Year.
Such an exchange will be a great opportunity to experience island life and see how Harray YFC adapts to this lifestyle.
The club also looks forward to seeing how Harray YFC gets involved within their community and hopes this exchange will provide Beith and District with plenty of ideas for the rest of the year. Members are also excited about welcoming Harray YFC to Ayrshire in November.
So far this year, the club has enjoyed an open mock auction and valuation, a country cooks competition with Kilmaurs YFC, a car treasure hunt, and a club day outing to Foxlake Adventures.
Members also enjoyed a summer evening playing rounders, during which they welcomed Katie Fallon from Kilmacthomas Macra in Ireland, who was staying with club secretary Jean as part of the SAYFC exchange.
During show season, the club attended both local shows, Beith and Dalry, assisting with gate duties and promoting the club. The club looks forward to a range of annual meetings over the next few months, including a badminton tournament, quiz, speech-making, and debate competitions, as well as many open events.
Upcoming events for Beith and District YFC:
Open dairy stock judging – on August, Friday 23, at 7pm at Hoodsyard Farm, Beith, KA15 2LJ, by permission of the McConnell Family
Open badminton tournament
on August, Monday 26, at 7pm at Garnock Community Campus, KA14 3BF – come along to practice for the West tournament.
Open beef and sheep stock judging
on September, Friday 20, at 7pm at Knockewart Farm, Ardrossan, KA22 7NU, by permission of the Seaton family.
Annual variety concert
on the October 23-25, at Centrestage, Kilmarnock – stay tuned to our Facebook page for information on tickets.
Family Fortunes charity fundraiser
On February Saturday 1, at Livestock Auctions Market, Ayr, by permission of Craig Wilson Ltd – save the date and bring along your club families to compete.
Beith and District YFC has produced two national chairs during the club’s existence, namely Jean Wilson (née Reid) and Scott Wilson.
Currently, we have two members in district roles: past chair Iain Campbell as the Ayrshire District vice-chair and club secretary Jean Andrew as the Ayrshire County Rally assistant secretary. Both hope to encourage and inspire fellow members to take on such roles.
Additional member successes this year include club assistant secretary Jennifer Craig and chair Cerys Seaton being selected for the SAYFC international trip to Vietnam this month. Both are excited about the experience and are grateful to everyone who donated for their trip.
Committee member Emma Nicol had great success at the Royal Highland Show this year, winning the senior section of the National Photography Competition.
Our boys’ tug-of-war team made it to the West competition for the first time in many years.
The club looks forward to watching this team grow and compete in many more competitions.
As we head into the winter months, members look forward to beginning practices for our annual variety concert, an event enjoyed by all every year.
We are also emphasising farm safety and look forward to a demonstration in September provided by St. Andrew’s First Aid.
On February, Saturday 1, 2025, we will hold a grand fundraiser for two chosen charities.
The event will be similar to the TV show Family Fortunes, and we hope as many clubs as possible from across the country will bring along their families. It’s sure to be a great night!
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