Ringing World National Youth Competition 2023

On Sat 8^th July, after an early start (tho’ not quite as “stupid o’clock” as last year!), a number of LDG’s ‘Foxes young ringers & their Parents met up around 9am at York’s Designer Outlet Park n Ride site south of York. We duly hopped onto the first Bus available & en-route planned “where to disembark” in York, as we headed towards our 1^st ringing tower of the day…

Due to the huge numbers of young ringers from all around the UK attending the day’s events, the RWNYC Organisers provide an “individual group” itinerary, which included providing Pullman Double-Decker Buses to shuttle groups to/from towers outside of York itself, including our Ringing Competition Tower (see later).

Our “1^st challenge” (getting to P&R & into York in good time) being “ticked off”, our 2^nd challenge was to find our shuttle bus to Acomb. This turned out be only a few mins walk from the handy Rougier St. P&R bus stop, at the entrance to the Memorial Gardens – itself only about 100yds or so from the Mainline Railway Station. Which was handy again, as Kiera had chosen to travel up to York via Train… Kiera was met along from the Station by a madly waving Foxes Coach & directed to our shuttle bus. We were the only group waiting for that bus & had the whole of it ourselves – all rattling around on the Ground floor – which was also handy as it meant that Kiera could nip upstairs & privately don her LDG Foxes York 2023 Team Shirt (many thanks to Rebecca Banner for the fantastic Foxes logo & to Sally for providing, & embroidering the logos onto the shirts!).

Acomb St Stephen (6 Bells, 10-3-26) – Bells 1-4 & Tenor are 1770 Pack & Chapman Bells:

The Bus dropped us at a Bus Stop on the main road, where we were met by “Senior Citizen” locals who shepherded us, across & along the road, to a small alley that took us to this church. We also met up with Lewis who had elected to drive up to York. The Church had fairly recently put a Toilet in the bottom of the tower & created a snug fit “upstairs” ringing room accessed via a short run of very narrow stairs. These Bells turned out to be quite odd-struck, but our Foxes managed them well – the ringing sticking to “basics” (rounds & call changes, plain hunt etc.) & the ringing was of a reasonably good standard – especially considering it was the first ring of the day (we were not yet warmed up!).

On finishing our allotted ringing time, we were pleasantly surprised to find there were more locals in the church itself – who had laid on refreshments for us & the later groups (Thanks!). These were happily enjoyed & good conversations held with the locals.

Once we’d had our fill, with other groups now arriving, we were escorted back to the Bus Stop – en-route I was asked by a local “Could you come back on Thursday? It’s our Practice night & your young ringers ring the Bells better than we do!” (we’ll take that I thought!).

The Oratory (previously St. Wilfrid’s) Roman Catholic Church (10 Bells, 18-1-21):

We had a very pleasant short walk from the Memorial Gardens, over a bridge across the river Ouse, heading straight towards the Minster. The Oratory is situated close to (& for our route just before) the Minster, whose magnificent Bells we could hear as we got nearer – it was clear that the group(s) then ringing at the Minster were finding them “a challenge”!

Just then another person came out with a Laptop in their hand saying “it’s working now!” Simon said – “right Howell, as it’s your groups time slot now, your lot can come in & ring (& those who have “missed their slot” will have to come back later..)” – Phew!

In-tower we were supplemented by RWNYC organised helpers & later-on in our slot by another group, to enable our small group to ring all-10 Bells. We enjoyed ringing on these easy-going Bells & the ringing was pretty good – the simulator-(surprisingly) sounding quite like Bells for a change!

The Oratory is Roman Catholic & hosts The Shrine of St Margaret Clitherow, which Lucy’s Parents took an opportunity to visit & said was a great experience.

RWNYC Ringing Competition

After The Oratory we were scheduled to travel out via another shuttle Bus to our Competition Tower (Huntington). We set off to find the Bus, but my “sense of direction” went astray & it didn’t look like we’d find the Bus in time to meet its departure time (& Competition slot time…). Lewis volunteered to take as many as could (legally!) fit into his car & Joe (whose father Jason had similarly driven into York & was “parked up somewhere”) called his “personal Uber” & arranged for us (Joe, Lucy & myself) to meet Jason near the east end of the Minster for a lift out to Huntington. As we walked along the South side of the Minster we were approached by a local with a clipboard saying “where have you been? The Bus is waiting for you just around the corner & you need to take it as they can’t leave until you’re on it!”. In the event Joe travelled out to Huntington with his dad, while Lucy & I (& a roving RWNYC-Day photographer) had this Pullman Double-Decker Bus to ourselves!

Huntington All Saints (8 Bells, 5-0-17 – a Victorian Warner’s 6 plus 2 trebles):

The shuttle Bus stopped in a suburban street, where we were again met by locals who guided us down a side road to the church. Despite everything, we had all arrived OK & were actually EARLY for our Competition ringing slot?!

In the church we were “checked-in” & the Team were taken & arranged to have their official RW Team photo taken (which we “piggy-backed” to take our formal Team photo) – after which we waited for our turn to ring. This year, partly as Team Coaches (as always) are not allowed to give any guidance in-Tower, but mostly because everyone (apart from our “1^st Reserve”) had “done this before” – I left everything in Lewis’s capable hands… I should say two things:

1. Due to various reasons, the Band had NOT actually managed to get all together to practise as [that] Band for the Competition, &
2. Prior to arriving at-Tower the Band were still discussing what they would ring (Plain Hunt 5 VS Bob Doubles)!!

Although an 8-bell Tower, RW Rules currently allow for Bands to enter as a 6-Bell or 8-Bell Band. We had entered as a 6-Bell… During the Results (see later) whilst not mentioned by name, the Judges expressed their surprise at “a Band starting their slot by ringing on 8-Bells, stopping & then ringing their test piece on 6-Bells?!”. This was our Band ensuring that Lucy got to fully take part & “grab” the Tower! – our surprise is that no other Band did that for their Reserves!!

I mostly stood outside listening & talking with Jason & others whilst our Foxes “strutted their stuff”. Without giving anything away pre-Results, we felt they did themselves (& LDG) “justice” – mindful of lack of [that] Band practice. Once our Competition ringing was over, the Team reassembled outside & we decided to take a couple of our own Team photos…

After that we headed back to the cars & (more of us this time!) back to the shuttle Bus stop. There was no Bus when we got to the stop & we were told it would be about ¾ hr before the next Bus… Well it so happened that the stop was directly opposite an open Pub & we were hot & thirsty, so we decided to support local businesses & downed a Shandy/Coke/Lemonade or two…[as permitted!] Once the Bus arrived we duly hopped on for the trip back into York – the roving photographer rejoining us again for the return trip (must’ve enjoyed our company?!).

York Minster (12 Bells, 59-1-23 – ringing session “shared” with other Groups):

On arriving back at the Minster we realised we had a “gap” before we were due to ring at the Minster. The area outside the West end was as busy with Tourists etc. with the usual entry queue you’d expect on a July Saturday in York. However, the Organisers had arranged for RWNYC-ers to enter via a different door to the Tourists (with no queue – yippee!), so we showed our RWNYC wristbands to the “bouncers” (no wristband = no entry!) & popped-in to take a look around the Minster – to find it was very busy!

We briefly looked around the RW’s “stand” & spotted a mini-ring behind, so of course we all had a ring!

We still had time to spare so we went back outside & agreed we should take a lunch break & re-meet up at our allotted meet-time at the foot of the Tower stairs, just inside of “our” West End entrance door. Some of us found a nearby pub – which had a menu on display, but on trying to order we found “was NOT doing food today” (on a Saturday, in York?!…). So we sat down with our drinks &, everyone having given their “orders/preferences”, sent Morgan & Dexter off with our “plastics” (we’re very trusting!) to a supermarket a few doors down the street, to grab some “meal deals”. When they returned we finished our drinks & made our way back to the West End to eat the “haul”.

There was a strictly followed “check-in & line-up” procedure for all groups – we duly lined-up until previous group(s) descended & we were allowed to ascend the tower (100 steps…!). Once in-ringing-room, Central Council President Simon Linford explained how we’d be sticking to Rounds & Call Changes, that there were “helpers” to fill-in as-required, & that the Tenor could either be rung by 1 person or 2 people-together using an extra clip-on/off tail-end (called a “strap”) – 1 person ringing both strokes from the floor using the strap, the other ringing both strokes from the Tenor’s (big!) box using the normal tail-end [see photos below].

I was delighted & very proud to see our Foxes leaping up to take a rope as soon as one became available – I commented to Jason “Remember previous years, when our Foxes didn’t have the confidence to ring in front of others at the big Towers & either wouldn’t ring at all, or had to be cajoled into it? Look at them go now!”

For those who don’t know, Dexter is a “keen Tenor ringer” – so I could see him straining at the leash to ring the Tenor, but at the same time he wanted someone to “do it with him” – I looked along the seated Foxes (awaiting next call for ringers) & could see Morgan “thinking about it”…

The Yorkshire Tykes group were at the Minster at the same time as us – one of their number (Dylan Smith) is actually an ex-Derby DA Young Ringer – his family having recently moved to Yorkshire. He had previously (when Derby) attended some Foxes Bellfoundry Practices & arranged a Ringing Outing in the North Notts. Area attended by Dexter (who has kept in contact with Dylan). This is just what the Young Ringers groups/RWNYC is all about – the opportunity to make friends all around the Country, based around ringing.

Suffice to say, I thought (biased? surely not!) the Minster ringing during our session, whilst not perfect (it couldn’t be, with such a mix of (some very) inexperienced young ringers who had never rung together before – let alone at the Minster), it was definitely much more accomplished than many bits we heard throughout the day as we moved around York.

St Martin, Coney St. (8 Bells, 10-1-23, session shared with Winchester & Portsmouth [W&P] Group):

After the thrill of ringing at the Minster, we made our way along to St. Martin’s Coney St. right in the middle of York’s Saturday-busy High Street shopping area. This ground-floor ring are easy to ring & the rope circle has the Font in the middle. We alternated “what to ring next” decisions with W&P whilst ringing jointly with them, & Foxes took part in a variety of methods. Again the ringing was of a good standard…

Spurriergate Centre (6 Bells, 8-2-14, augmented to 6 in 1765, the original 5 Bells were previously the “top 5” of the first ring of 12 in the world – the original York Minster 12):

After St Martin’s, we made our way further along Coney St. & across to the Spurriergate Centre (formerly St. Michael’s Church), our last tower of the day. Some streetworks had us pushed to the wrong side of the street & we ended up doing what turned out to be a complete circle of the Church (spiralling-in) on foot before we found the way in…

This old church has been repurposed as a Christian Community Centre – part coffee shop, part drop-in centre, there were non-ringers “doing their thing” whilst we were there. The “ringing room” was unusual in that it was a “very short gallery” (really a short corridor part of a bigger mezzanine floor that appeared to be a “chill-out zone”!). Due to the number of ringers throughout the day a strict “up the spiral metal+wooden staircase, ring, then back down via another other staircase” regime was in force.

These bells we also easy to ring & we enjoyed them for the short time we had before the church closed for the day.

Results Meeting:

Plan A was to hold the Results Meeting in the Minster, but time-wise it clashed with a Service, so it had been moved to the Central Methodist Church, Saviourgate. For those who have already seen the RW’s photos of the Results event I have to say they do NOT do the event justice – they should have included photos taken from the Judges end looking back underneath the gallery – there were more YR’s under the gallery than in front of it!

The Results event began with introductions to the Judging Panel(s), & the necessary “Thankyou’s” to the Organisers, their on-day helpers, & Sponsors (Friends of York Minster, Yorkshire Assoc. of Change Ringers, Westley Group, Worshipful Company of Girders, Whitechapel Bellfoundry [Alan Hughes], Talent Innovations, & of course The Ringing World itself).

As in previous years, as there are two separate Competitions (“Rounds & Call Changes”, & “Method”) the Results we initially announced for the R&C Competition (see RW). After each of the R&C Bands had received their Medals, the R&C Trophy awarded & official RW photos taken of the winning team, the level of tension amongst the Foxes was starting to rise…

Mindful the Foxes hadn’t had ANY [that] Band Practices (circumstances beyond anyone’s control), & that last year (our first year of entering the Method Competition) we had been placed last, we were “not expecting miracles”. The Judges announced that there was a tie for 7^th (last) place. Then they announced the first of those two teams name – it wasn’t us – OK we’ll probably be the other team – but NO – WE WERE NOT =LAST!

I wish I’d been filming – the looks of surprise, bewilderment & excitement on the faces of our Foxes… In the end we were placed =6^th – so a great improvement from last year! In fact we were marked only ½ point below 5^th place! [Next Year?!] I cannot begin to express how proud you feel watching our Foxes receiving their medals along to the thunderous applause rightly given to every group (mine & others hands were sore afterwards!).

Wind Down & Return Home:

After the Results, some chose to leave then to return home, whilst some of us returned to the Minster for “Pizza & soft drinks” – a pre-booked event that was part of a larger “Games Competition” evening for those remaining groups of YRs (some of whom were staying over somewhere).

We had elected to book to use this as a “fuelling pitstop” prior to finding the P&R Bus back to our Car Park – so, once suitably refuelled by “Domino-O-Ohs” (other Pizza’s are available!) & cans of pop we duly walked back to Rougier St. & awaited our P&R Bus & back to our Car Park, where we briefly discussed the optional routes back home before taking them…

I also asked Lucy’s Parents, who hadn’t previously been to a RWNYC day, if they’d enjoyed the day – they replied they’d had a great time & that everyone they’d seen had a smile on their face (you really can’t say fairer than that!).

Afterthoughts:

If I recall correctly, in their write-up the RW said they now realise the RWNYC Day is the most important day in the ringing fraternity’s Calendar. I wholeheartedly agree, as without ongoing young ringers there will eventually be no more ringing & to me that would be a travesty.

I want to add my Thanks to the RW & other Sponsors & the Organisers who make these amazing days happen – for me it’s a privilege to be a part of, & to see young people taking part & having fun “around” a ringing day out.

Further I want to Thank our (impeccably behaved) Foxes, their Parents/Grandparents for their continuing support of both LDG’s Young Ringers group & RWNYC Days, without which it couldn’t happen. Also a big Thanks to all who sent me their photos for selection/use in this article – much appreciated (as my mind was “elsewhere” on the day!).

Finally, some of our Foxes “graduated” this time around (i.e. will be too old to take part in RWNYC’s Competitions themselves next year (RWNYC has an under-19-on-the-day age limit) – but whom may be “called upon” to act as Helpers, Judges etc. at next year’s RWNYC [to be held in London, based at Bow – hosted & part-sponsored by the Ancient Society Of College Youths]. To our “graduates” – I hope you will continue to support our Foxes as/when you can!

Bring on RWNYC London 2024 !!

Howell Williams
Foxes Coach