By: Blonde One
In the eyes of a Ten Tors manager this time of year is the best and the worst. It’s the best because you see the young inexperienced teenagers of the autumn transformed into a superb team capable of navigating their way across Dartmoor without adult assistance.
It’s the worst time of year though because you have to make a team selection. From the many promising students at the beginning of training you have to select just 6 for each team.
This blog is not about how we made this selection or what qualities the final 6 possess but a celebration of all the qualities that all of the students brought, from day one.
When most of your friends are enjoying a weekend lie-in, or a shopping trip in town, or spending some valuable weekend time doing homework, it’s hard to put yourself up for a potentially cold, wet and miserable day on the moors with your teachers! And yet some teenagers do just that! I would say that’s quite an achievement in itself.
All of the Trinity students that put themselves up for the possibility of team selection are amazing. They have trudged their way across Dartmoor in all weathers, showing an extraordinary amount of resilience along the way. They have shown true commitment as they missed out on activities with family and friends. They have learned masses: about themselves, their friends, the staff and Dartmoor. Goodness knows how many miles they have covered carrying a very heavy and sometimes uncomfortable rucksack.
Whether they came for just one training walk or made the final team selection, they are all amazing and deserve bucketloads of credit for their courage to accept the many challenges of this training.
It has been by absolute pleasure to work with these youngsters!
