Youth Involvement

The 1000 K Kids

The five teams of experienced expedition members, together with our young adventurers will be traveling a total of 800 km. The decision has been made that the “Young Adventures” will be flown immediately with the team to their starting point and walk the entire distance. Our experience has shown that our adventurers would rather participate in the complete event then just walk a few kilometers.

The 10 young adventurers, on their first ever walk in the Antarctic, will be walking through extreme conditions but will be having the time of their lives. They will be escorted across the snow and ice by their experienced expedition partners – many of whom are climbing and trekking guides from the Alaskan mountains, the North Pole and the Antarctic.

Food drops, medical support and equipment checks will be carried out to ensure the health and safety of all team members.

Experts will train each young adventurer, chosen to walk with us. They will have been selected based on their performance at the training camp and their ability to successfully undertake the challenge. As a result of the training, all team members will have acquired new insights into their strengths and weaknesses and will have personal achievement strategies to assist them during the trip.

Who can take part?

The young adventurers involved will come from different parts of the world and will have a huge variety of different experiences, cultures, languages*, aspirations and backgrounds. They will be between the ages of 16 and 23 when the selection takes place.

The date of the selection will be advertised via the website and the media shortly.

*It is important to speak English at a reasonable level due to safety reasons.

The Camp:

Many young people, both male and female, will receive the opportunity to attend a residential training camp based in Europe or the United States. While attending the training camp they will participate in a series of activities that will both assess and develop relevant skills and attitudes. Team work, outdoor skills, self reflection, fitness, planning, problem solving and interpersonal skills are some of the numerous areas of development that will be undertaken, in a supportive and fun atmosphere over the many week’s at the training camp.

Selection for the Antarctic Team:

Ten young adventurers will be selected during the camp to be the final expeditioners. A further two young adventurers will also be selected as reserves. Selection will be based on aptitude – for example, having good mental and emotional strength, physical strength and endurance, the ability to work in a team environment, interpersonal skills, be reliable, show initiative and so on. The expedition and reserve team will have further training and will remain in close contact with the experienced expeditioners prior to the expedition taking place.

Why should young people attend?

We know the lives of those who go with the expedition team will be changed by the experience. They will grow in confidence, will reflect on the value of home and the comfort they have taken for granted. They will also gain an insight into their own inner strength, and will get to know a group of people from many different places and will learn to appreciate the richness of different personalities, skills and cultures. Young adventures will have been to a place where very few people will ever go and will have seen a place where wilderness is almost untouched. They will create their own sense of adventure.

The Antarctic Challenge 2009 – 2012 will require greater effort than the young adventurer’s team will have ever encountered but will achieve greater rewards. This opportunity is provided in recognition of the importance of connecting young people to meaningful activities, build solid and reliable relationships and develop greater self confidence.

We expect that the lives of many others – parents and people from the young adventurers’ home town, other young people, community leaders and more – will also be affected as they participate via the Internet or by radio and television.

The Antarctic Challenge 2009 – 2012 aims to strengthen individuals and communities through a unique opportunity.