Save the date – St John National Youth Festival, 27 April

The St John National Youth Festival and Competitions are being held on 25-29 April in Auckland.

Members of the media and the public are warmly invited to attend:

• Major event: First aid competitions (including realistic accident scenarios) on the hallowed turf at Eden Park from 10.00am to 3.00pm on Saturday 27 April

• A Hauora Youth expo focusing on community youth organisations and careers in health (sponsored by St John North Shore Area Committee) at the North Shore Events Centre between 10.00am-2.00pm on Friday 26 April

• Drills and communication competition day at the North Shore Events Centre between 10.00am and 2.00pm on Friday 26 April.

The Festival is the major event for St John Youth in New Zealand. For many of the Festival participants, the competitions day on Saturday is the key event and what they have been training for since last year. The three St John Regions in New Zealand (Northern, Central and South Island) are represented by 12 teams who will be tested (as teams and individuals) in first aid, healthcare, leadership, communications and drill (marching).

Props, make-up and ‘patients’ will be used on competition day to recreate realistic accident and medical emergency situations. Scenes are staged as realistically as possible so that competitors react in a way that mirrors how they would respond in actual accidents and medical emergencies.

As well as competitions, this year’s festival has a theme of ‘Hauora’ – health and wellbeing – and will include a hauora expo on Friday 26 April, with a particular focus on youth health.

The St John Youth programme has been going strong for 86 years in New Zealand. It focuses on positive youth development, offering young people from 6 to 18 years great opportunities to develop leadership and decision-making skills. It encourages discovery, adventure and learning – with an emphasis on having fun and meeting new people.

For more information on the St John Youth programme, please visit our website at http://youth.stjohn.org.nz/.

ENDS