Ringing World National Youth Contest - One week to go!
by the RWNYC Organising Team

We are all excited and counting down the days until the Ringing World National Youth Contest, to be held at St Paul’s Church in Birmingham on Saturday, 30th June. We know that the fifteen teams, made up of 120 young ringers, have been practising hard and are greatly looking forward to their visit to Birmingham.

All team leaders have now received a copy of the programme for the day which will be packed with activities in addition to the contest ringing itself. St Paul’s will be the centre of the day’s activities with team registration, the Charmborough mini-ring and Learn to ring Handbells sessions (run by Philip Earis and Tom Hinks) all taking place on site at the church.

There will be a Ringing World team present at the church all day keen to meet the teams and ensure that everyone has a great day out in Birmingham. Further, the St Martin’s Guild will be providing a range of good value refreshments throughout the day and lunch at St Paul’s from 11:30 to 14:30, in which contestants and friends are warmly encouraged to participate.

Contestants will have a chance to ring with members of the St Martin’s Guild at several other towers in Birmingham during the day, including on the ring of 16 bells at St Martin’s in The Bullring. Those visiting Birmingham will even be able to see the Olympic Torch passing through the city centre an hour after our contestants collect their medals! The closing date for entries has now passed, but any children (and their parents) or other young ringers who are not ringing in the contest but are keen to come along are invited to join us. We would like to welcome as many keen young ringers to Birmingham as possible.

Good luck to everyone taking part in the contest. Only one team will take home the magnificent Whitechapel Trophy but we hope that each and every one of you will have an excellent day out in Birmingham.

We look forward to meeting you all.