B.V.I. Friday, June 5 – The Department of Youth Affairs and Sports presented its ‘Sizzling Summer Selections’  yesterday June 4 showcasing the department’s four programmes available to youth in the Territory for summer 2009.

The selections which are part of the Youth Summer Development Programme, now in its fifth year, were announced at a press conference held by the Assistant Director for Sports, Mr. Patrick Harrigan; Assistant Director for Youth, Mrs. Persia Tobin-Evelyn and Youth and Sports Officers, Ms. Sherna Saunders Brown and Mr. Jason Rubaine.

Speaking of the programmes, Mr. Harrigan said while some parents may see them as just a place to take care of their children over the summer, the department is truly looking forward to teaching the participants about cultural items, survival and job skills and sports.

He also noted that the department’s programmes will be diverse and cater to the varied interests of young people between the ages of five and 25 as four separate programmes will be available to the participants.

The Apprenticeship Programme under theme ‘Me! The Apprentice’ will be open to persons ages 16 to 25. Mrs. Tobin-Evelyn said participants will be able receive training in “electrical wiring, plumbing, auto body repair, welding, carpentry, customer service, secretarial service, masonry, marine charter management, construction, professional cleaning services, veterinary and animal care services, media production, graphic design, telecommunications, water sports, air condition repair and pottery.”

The programme will run from July 6 to August 28 and applications are due by June 25. Participants in this programme will be paid.

The Summer Youth Development Activities Programme will cater to persons ages five to 18. The programme will have a central theme focusing on cultural activities. Older games like ‘rah rah’, playing games with marbles and kite making will be featured in the programme along with other activities like tennis, pottery making and face painting. The theme for this section will be ‘Creativity in Me’. The programme will run from July 6 – 31.  Applications for this programme are due by June 26 and a registration fee of $45 is required for each child.

The Youth Service Programme will be themed ‘Survivor’ and will focus on the skills necessary for participants to survive in the wild or in more rugged terrain. As such, the programme will focus on compass reading, trail tracking, camping and hiking with real life test of skills to be included in the programme. Participants can also expect to go through etiquette training as well as some events involving the sea. The programme will operate in two sessions, the first from July 6 – 31 and the second from August 10 – 28. The programme is open to persons ages 14 to 18 and a rolling admission is available to interested participants.

The Junior Scientists Programme will be themed ‘Scientific discovery through environmental observations’. The programme which had sessions over the Easter vacation will continue its objective of monitoring the salt ponds in the Territory, among other scientific projects. The programme is open to persons ages 14 to 17 and will run from July 6 – 20. Applications are due by July 3.

Persons interested in being a part of any of the four programmes should contact the Department of Youth Affairs and Sports at 494-6860 and can apply in person at its location on the second floor of the Ward’s Building. The Department will also host the Sizzling Summer Selections Fair on June 12 at the Noel Lloyd/Positive Action Movement Park from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. where parents can register their children for the summer programmes.