by Angharad Evans, Welsh Language Communications Officer
I spent most of the year 1992 in the company of Digion y Dolffin. Yes, you read correctly…Digion y Dolffin! Digion y Dolffin was the mascot of the Aberystwyth National Eisteddfod 1992 Children's Pageant - “Seth Gwenwyn a’r Gwyrddedigion” - a pageant telling the story of a group of young people who wanted to save Cantre'r Gwaelod from Seth Gwenwyn's siege!
I have to admit that I have a hazy memory of the period, but I do remember all the rehearsals for months before, and the feeling of being very small on such a big stage to take part in the Cnapan scene during the Pageant. By now, I realise how unforgettable the experience was and of course the honour of being able to take part in such a special event.
Fast forward exactly 30 years, and the Eisteddfod returns to Ceredigion, and finally, Tregaron, has the opportunity to welcome the Eisteddfod to the area. After the disappointment of the last two years of having to postpone, the area is now more than ready to welcome Wales to mid Ceredigion!
During the first week of August, Tregaron and the surrounding area will extend a welcome to everyone, and many have been looking forward to seeing old friends around the Maes and enjoying the various programmes and sessions that show our culture and language at their best.
It was great to see a crowd of young people from all over the country gather at Ruthin Mart on a sunny day during late April to compete and socialise after a rather miserable time.
The Field Day is held annually and is an opportunity for members of the Wales Young Farmers Clubs of all ages to come together to learn and share essential skills for working safely in agriculture.
Including activities such as fencing, farm machinery skills, sheep dog trials, Fferm Ffactor, auctioneering and junior and senior stock judging, there is enough variety for all keen young farmers to demonstrate their rural knowledge and skills when undertaking the various challenges during the day.
The rain luckily held off for the Wales YFC Sports Day on 19th June this year, where many of our talented members turned up to compete at Brecon Leisure Centre.
Starting at 10am, the morning consisted of the team competitions; Touch Rugby, Ultimate Frisbee, Ladies “Rush” Hockey and Men’s Dodgeball.
Carmarthenshire came first in the Men’s Dodgeball, where we were fortunate enough to have representatives from Rhondda Dragons Dodgeball Club to volunteer their time, kit and expertise. The competition was a great success, and although competitive, the atmosphere was an extremely fun one! Second place went to Gwent Federation, and third to Brecknock.
On the AstroTurf, the ladies “rush” hockey took place, with Brecknock winning first place with their fast and precise shots. Radnor came a close second, with Gwent following in third place.
The adrenaline-pumping Ultimate Frisbee went down well with our younger members, testing their agility and catching skills in a new and exciting competition. Brecknock reached the top, and Ceredigion achieved second, therefore both teams will be going forward representing Wales at the NFYFC Sports Day in July. Pembrokeshire achieved third place. That wasn’t the last we saw of Brecknock’s achievements, as their touch rugby team also came in first place, Carmarthenshire in Second and Pembrokeshire in third.
On 23rd April, Clwyd Federation hosted the Wales YFC Field Day at the Ruthin Livestock Market. It was a fun-filled day with a great turnout from all counties, and the standard of the competition was once again very high, even after a break of two years between the last Field Day and now!
The day was kindly sponsored by Wynnstay, who also supplied the fencing materials for the Junior Fencing compeititon. Menter a Busnes also sponsored the Farm Machinery Skills competition, with Mona Tractors Co. Ltd and Emyr Evans a'i gwmni cyf. kindly loaning the machinery for the competitions.
Overall winners of the day were the Brecknock Federation, who collected an array of trophies on the day. Both Junior and Senior fencing competitions were won by the county, as well as member Rhian Lewis winning the Senior Stockman of the Year competition. Thomas Pritchard also won first place in the auctionneering competition; it was great to see all the competitors in action!
