THEY may have only had a short time to come to terms with heading for the Rotary Youth Leader Awards camp but Nicole Young and Jessica Mcgrath quickly got to grips with the challenges that awaited them at the Abernethy outward bound facility.

Due to late withdrawals the duo were drafted in to head north in July and were delighted to be given the opportunity.

Cowdenbeath Rotary Club, in partnership with Beath and Lochgelly High Schools, sponsor the sending of two local representatives to RYLA and on Thursday Nicole, from Ballingry, and Jessica, from Cowdenbeath, told of their experiences.

Beath High pupil Jessica said: "I have to admit I was really nervous about going, although the staff at Abernethy were so re-assuring and welcoming I was ready for my first day which was a 14 mile mountain bike ride.

"Everything seemed to be going well and then there was a bit of drama when one of our girls fell ill.

"We managed to get her assistance and she felt better later but it was quite a start to things.

"Then we tackled building a canoe, which was very interesting, but we had a set-back when the craft we created sank!

"But we were soon on an upward curve when we went hill walking and we had some inspiring talks from mentors which made it clear to us that it was important to take on challenges that took us out of our comfort zones.

"It became very clear how that was essential in letting us know how to become good leaders."

Lochgelly High pupil, Nicole, felt that perhaps having such a short time to think about going to RYLA was not a bad thing as all of a sudden she was in Abernethy!

She said: "I quickly realised how the experience was going to show me my strengths and weaknesses.

"On the first day I found out that I was our leader on the hillwalking event and I quickly discovered that I had to step up to the plate.

"Canoeing and kayaking was a real challenge for me and after I capsized some advice I was given made all the difference, and I became more positive about successfully completing the challenge.

"It was good fun and I found the whole week a real inspiration and that if you believe in yourself you can achieve anything."

Acting depute rector at Lochgelly High School, Daryl Friel, played a big part in helping pull things together at the last minute to make things happen and he was delighted to be able to present Jessica and Nicole with their RYLA certificates.