First Time to Camp? Look no further, here’s all you need to know about what camp is all about!

A Day at Camp

Your day at camp starts with full Nitnem (for all those interested) at 4am, followed by Asa Di Var at 5am. Everyone else is expected in the Darbar Sahib at 6am for Japji Sahib.

But it’s not a non-stop Gurudwara session!

After a fresh, healthy breakfast, you’ve got an age group session, followed by morning tea, an IPS Session and another age group session.

After lunch, you can participate in an exciting range of camp activities/swimming.

Then you get to spend some quality time with your Jatha to prepare a shabad for that night’s divan or work on your project for presentation night.

This is followed by dinner and then divan. After that, you get a supper and can choose to participate in organised activities (usually a soccer or basketball competition!).

Lights out at 10.30pm to recharge for another fantastic day at Sikh Youth Camp!

Afternoon Activities

Just as the name suggests, The Sydney Academy of Sport is not lacking in exciting and challenging physical activities for you to participate in. You have your choice of:

• Sailing
• Swimming
• Canoeing
• Kayaking
• Rock climbing
• Bike riding
• Abseiling
• Ropes course
• Basketball and Soccer

All activities are supervised by fully qualified Department of Sport and Recreation staff. You participate in these activities with other camp participants that you may not have already met prior to this so it is also a great social opportunity.

Prayer Sessions

The prayer sessions are fairly short and all explanation is given in ENGLISH, so if you have trouble understanding Punjabi, this will make for a refreshing change.

*Japji Sahib and Rehras Sahib will be led by a different Jatha each day. Don’t worry, you don’t have to know them well! Everyone will be given a Gutka and, even if you are not familiar with Rehras or Japji Sahib, you will have about 20 other people around you to support you and the rest of the sangat.

Age Group Sessions

To cater to the needs of all ages, all camp participants are divided into different age groups:

• Under 10 years (Mighty Khalsa’s)
• 10-12 years (Junior Khalsa’s)
• 13-15 years
• 16-17 years
• 18-24 years
• Parents/Grandparents

By running workshop sessions in age groups, content can be delivered at an appropriate level and participants get a chance to meet new people their own age.

Jathas

All participants are placed into a Jatha group. This is a mixed-age group where you will spend time together working on daily Jatha tasks and projects over the course of the week. You will also compete in the hotly contested jatha competitions (see below). Over the week, you’ll get to know one another really well and make some lasting friendships.

Jatha Competitions

There are three competitions at Sikh Youth Camp that are very popular year after year. These are the:

Kirtan Competition

Each Jatha will prepare and perform one Shabad for each night. Dont worry if you have never done kirtan before or cannot sing to save your life – extra points are awarded for participation, creativity in presentation and effort!

The Shabads are judged by a panel of experienced Kirtanis, with points awarded accordingly

Drama Competition

On the final evening of the camp, each jatha performs a short drama piece concerning a topic related to the camp theme. This night is always plenty of fun and again, points are awarded for participation, creativity and effort!

Sports Competition

On two of the evenings, an inter-jatha sports competition takes place (usually indoor soccer or basketball). It is always a tightly contested affair with the round robin tournament culminating in a grand final match.

Champion Jatha Competition

This is based on the points gained from the kirtan, drama and sports competition as well as general behaviour and seva tasks. This highly coveted award is accompanied by gifts for all winning jatha members.

The Theme Shabad

This is the Shabad (hymn) that decides the theme of the camp. It is the Shabad that you’ll learn and be able to understand because there will be a lot of discussion about in both the IPS sessions and Age Group Sessions. The theme Shabad changes each year.

For more information about camp, click on Camp FAQs