THE EXPERIENCE
You have signed on for a challenging canoe trip that you will find both enjoyable and rewarding. The International Youth Camp (IYC) committee will prepare you to successfully complete a 200-kilometre canoe trip in two person, aluminum canoes. You will be expected to fully participate in all aspects of the camping/canoeing trip including cooking, setting up tents, paddling, and of course, carrying equipment and canoes over the seven portages (the longest being 2.0 km). Of great importance to the success of your experience will be your willingness to work in a team atmosphere.
The trip will be physically and emotionally challenging! You must be comfortable in and around water and have some knowledge of swimming. Prior knowledge of canoeing is not required, as we will teach you everything you need to know to complete the trip.
As part of this wilderness experience we will teach you how to minimize your impact on the environment. You will be exposed to many other skills including, but not limited to map navigation, solo paddling, organizing a portage, wilderness and other survival skills. Please come prepared to work and play hard, this is your trip and you will get from it what you give.
Age:
18 to 21 years
Number:
one per country/district and additional participants from a country or district if others decline to send a participant. Invitations are sent to a number of countries.
REGISTRATION FEE
A non-refundable payment of $575.00 Canadian dollars must be sent to the camp by April 30, 2019. All fees are non-refundable except for cancellation due to medical reasons.
Payment may be made by VISA, MasterCard, or International Money Wire to our local bank, or E Transfers in Canadian Funds in the amount of $575.00. Wire transfers are subject to additional service charge of $15.00 CAD, please transfer a total of $590.00 if you are sending a transfer to our bank account. Credit card payments will be put through one of our Rotary member’s retail accounts. Please expect that a charge will be processed through Fresh Market Foods.
There is a payment form attached to this document.
Transfers are to be made payable to Rotary International Dist. 5550 Inc. International Youth Camp SWIFT = CIBCCATT, IBAN = CC0010-00387-3405613
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS
Your country’s coordinator must confirm participation of your country by April 15, 2019 by forwarding your application, http://essexpa.clubwizard.com/IMUpload/2010%20Application%20STEP.pdf along with page 7 of this package including arrangements for full payment to be made by April 30, 2019. The co-coordinator may submit more than one application from your country, indicating priority of the individuals. Additional applicants may be accepted if other countries do not have participants. Applicants must follow their own country’s (Rotary District) application process, keeping in mind our deadline is April 15, 2019. After April 15, any positions not filled may be offered additional applicants from countries already participating base on when the applications were received.
VISAS
You are responsible for all Visas, permissions, authorizations etc. as required by
your own countries and by the Canadian government. Please contact a Canadian Consulate for information on visits to Canada.
INSURANCE
The participants must be insured against illness, accident and third party damages according to Rotary International recommendations.
PARTICIPANT LIST
We will compile a final list of participants and invite everyone to a Facebook Group for the camp participants. You may wish to contact the other participants, as often you will be on the same planes arriving and departing Canada.
TRAVEL
ARRIVAL IN CANADA: You will arrive in Sioux Lookout on Wednesday July 03, 2019 not before.
DEPARTURE FROM CANADA: You will leave Sioux Lookout on Wednesday July 17, 2019.
You need to arrive at Sioux Lookout YXY. You can fly through Winnipeg YWG or Thunder Bay YQT. Several airlines provide flights from Thunder Bay and Winnipeg, Bearskin Air, Perimeter Air, and Wasaya. There are connections to Winnipeg and Thunder Bay from many major international airports. Many connections are through Toronto or Vancouver.
There is train service, but the schedules have changed. Trains only run 2 days a week and will not provide service that will allow arrival and departure on the necessary dates.
There is bus service from Thunder Bay (YQT) and Winnipeg (YWG) to Sioux Lookout (YXL) daily. It is operated by Kasper Bus Line https://gokasper.com/bus/scheduled-bus-routes/
The bus leaves Thunder Bay at 9:30 EDT arriving in Sioux Lookout at 13:16 CDT. It leaves Sioux Lookout at 14:00 CDT arriving in Thunder Bay at 19:30 EDT
The bus leaves Winnipeg at 7:20 CDT arriving in Sioux Lookout at 13:25 CDT. It leaves Sioux Lookout at 14:00 CDT arriving in Winnipeg at 19:30 CDT
A copy of complete travel itineraries, including the details of all flights, trains or buses for both arrival and departure must be sent to the camp co-ordinator by June 1, 2019. susan (at) susanbarclay.com
Please book your travel as soon as your participation is confirmed. Travel is expensive and will be most economical if booked well in advance.
MEALS AND DIET RESTRICTIONS
Requirements for religious and allergy reasons can be accommodated. Vegetarian options will be available. It is essential that participants eat well on the trip, as you will be expending a lot of energy. Please ensure that you inform the planning committee of any food allergies or religious/medical dietary requirements on your application form, as changes cannot be made once you arrive. The menu for the trip will be nutritious, and limited by weight and lack of refrigeration.
ACCOMMODATIONS
Accommodations, before and after, the canoe trip will be with host families. These families will be Rotarians or friends of Rotarians. During the canoe trip, you will be staying in tents in the remote wilderness. The IYC committee is responsible for accommodations from July 3 to 17 inclusive.
EXTENDED STAYS IN CANADA
Participants wishing to arrive in Canada before July 3 or depart after July 17 are free to do so, at their own expense and they must make their own arrangements for accommodations and travel variation must be discussed with camp coordinator.
CAMP RULES
These rules are in effect from your arrival in Sioux Lookout until your departure.
The International Youth Camp is governed by Rotary International rules for Exchange Students. As such, the following rules will be enforced:
- Participants are not allowed to operate motorized vehicles of any kind
- Participants may not use any drugs, except those prescribed by a medical doctor or trip paramedic. While you may have heard the marijuana is now legal in Canada. Marijuana will be treated the same as alcohol. There are government imposed age restrictions and places to purchase in Ontario are extremely limited. Marijuana will not be allowed during your time at the camp.
- Participants are not allowed to consume alcoholic beverages. There will be no purchase of alcohol or consumption in public establishments.
- For safety reasons, instructions and requests given by the trip leaders are to be followed without question or delay.
Participants not following the rules may be verbally disciplined, removed from the trip environment and returned home as required. Any additional cost of return will be paid by the participant.
SAFETY
We will be in the remote wilderness but we will have a satellite phone to use in case of an emergency. We will have well trained personnel on the trip who can deal with medical or wilderness emergencies.
PARTICIPANTS WHO SMOKE
The committee has found that problems have arisen in the past with smokers. You are going on a wilderness camp experience and you will not be able to purchase cigarettes while on the trip. Plan to bring enough cigarettes for the trip. Do not attempt to quit smoking on the trip, you will find this very difficult. At all times, you must refrain from discarding cigarette butts in the woods. Save butts and matches for the garbage, or the camp fire pit, in order to keep the woods clean and avoid forest fires. Smoking may be prohibited if there is a “Restricted Fire Zone” in place. (You can ask us about what this is later.) Participants under 19 years of age are not able to legally purchase cigarettes in Ontario.
LANGUAGE AND CULTURE
The language used on the trip is English. Participants from other countries often speak a variety of languages. You will have the opportunity to learn about other languages and cultures.
CELL PHONES AND INTERNET
Most cell phones will work in Sioux Lookout. Internet will be available in most host homes and at the local coffee shops. On the Wilderness portion of your trip, Sunday through Sunday, you will have no access to cell or internet signals. They do not exist in the area you are going to.
SPENDING MONEY
The amount of spending money that you will require for the trip will depend very much on the activities that you wish to participate in during your experience. You should have money for things like: phone calls, souvenirs, social evenings, and personal items. You should arrive with $100 Canadian or American dollars in cash.
Currencies other than American dollars are hard to exchange in Sioux Lookout. Bank machines and Credit Cards are extensively used. Traveler’s cheques are cashable at the banks with passport identification.
CAMERAS AND VIDEO EQUIPMENT
We encourage you to bring any camera and video equipment that you wish. There are many opportunities for taking pictures on the trip. However, you are going on a wilderness experience and we strongly recommend that any equipment be insured against loss and damage. The Sioux Lookout Rotary Club, District 5550 and Rotary International cannot be held responsible for any damage or loss.
THE CANOE TRIP - July 03 – July 17
July 03 - Arrival day - Arrive in Sioux Lookout. You will be met when you arrive in Sioux Lookout. A group supper with host families, some Rotarians, and other participants will be arranged is usually arranged for those in town for supper.
July 04 - Training Day 1 - Training, including group team building, canoeing, portage instruction, packing instruction, camping equipment orientation and checking. Dinner at Rotary Club meeting 1800 hours.
July 05 - Training Day 2 - Training continues.
July 06 - Training Day 3 - Training continues, final backpack inspection
July 07 - Trip Departure Day - breakfast 0700 hours, departure 0800 hours.
July 08-13 - Trip Days 2-7 - Canoeing and camping though Canadian wilderness
July 14- Trip Day 8 - Arrival back in Sioux Lookout, real toilets and showers available
July 15 - Clean up Day and Rest Day - get together with other participants
July 16 - Sioux Lookout Activity Day – local activities will be planned for the group and
International Night- International potluck dinner, presentation and socialization. Each student will prepare a traditional food item of their culture and/or country.
July 17 - Departure Day – Variable times depending on route.
WHAT TO BRING
Bring whatever you wish for your time in Canada.
For the canoe portion of 8 days, we recommend that you bring old clothing that is not made of cotton. We recommend the following:
- 1 pair of water-resistant hiking boots for the portages on the wilderness portion
- 1 pair of running shoes to wear around camp in the evenings
- at least 2 pairs of underwear
- 2 pairs of wool socks
- 1 T-shirt – not cotton, quick drying
- 1 long sleeved shirt – not cotton, quick drying
- 1 sweater (fleece) or light weight warm jacket
- 1 pair of swim shorts or a bathing suit
- 1 pair of fast drying shorts
- 1 pair of fast drying long pants
- baseball cap or hat, mandatory
- sunglasses
- sun block lotion at least 30 spf (can be purchase locally)
- insect repellent (should be purchase locally)
- personal items: toothbrush, deodorant, hairbrush
All other clothing and items brought to Canada can be left with your host family until you return from the canoe trip. No other items are required on the trip. If you do not have all of these items, we will help you obtain them in Canada.
We will be providing tents, sleeping bags, ground mat, canoes, cooking and eating equipment, paddles, life jackets, waterproof backpacks, light weight towels, rain jacket and rain pants, biodegradable shampoo/body wash, and hand sanitizer.
INTERNATIONAL NIGHT
The last evening of your stay in Sioux Lookout is a meal and party to celebrate your completion of the trip and to say goodbye. You will be asked to prepare a dish of food typical of your country. Come to Canada prepared to cook something for this meal. You may need to bring a recipe and any special items you can’t get in small town Canada.
Your host family will assist you in preparing your dish if requested.
CONCLUDING COMMENTS
This will be a rewarding, challenging experience that you will remember for the rest of your life. There will be times when you will wonder why you ever agreed to participate. Participate in everything on the trip, get involved, try everything, look for extra opportunities and you and all on the trip will have a better time for your efforts.
For further information contact Susan Barclay at susan (at) susanbarclay.com phone 1 807 737-1148 home, 1 807 737-0390 cell, fax 1 807 737-0065.