Canadian Charolais Youth Assosiation

In the purebred industry every breed has its own association.  Each breed typically has associations that represent each province as well as a federal one.  Under each provincial association there is typically a youth association as well.  In the case of the Charolais breed we have an Alberta Charolais Youth Association (ACYA) as well as a Canadian Charolais Youth Association (CCYA).  I am a member of both.  I take part in my provincial level show and activities as well as the national level ones.  I like to be an active member within my provincial association but my biggest role as a youth member is being one of the Alberta directors on the CCYA National Board.  Being on the national board means that I make decisions on behalf of the Alberta members that affect the CCYA members or show and conference.  I take part in conference calls once every couple months and this past January we all got flown into Saskatoon for our winter meetings.  This is where all of the work really gets done.  Being able to all sit down together for a full day allows us to make any of the big changes necessary as well as create new programs and opportunities for CCYA members to succeed now and into their future. 

Last summer was the first year of the Summer Synergy; this was the first time in 4 years that our breed held a provincial level youth show.  This was a huge boost for us as we were able to get all of the members together and get all the holes in our executive filled up.  This was also very important as in 2012 we will be hosting the CCYA Show and Conference.  The CCYA Show and Conference is a 4 day event in which members of the CCYA from all over the country meet to take part in grooming, keep and cull, judging, team judging, marketing, team marketing, showmanship, and if you choose to take livestock conformation.  But the point of the CCYA Show and Conference is not all about the competition but throughout the conference there are seminars and always fun activities to take part in or great people to meet.  Last Summer my family and I along with 3 heifers made the journey to Dauphin Manitoba to take part in the conference.  The whole time we were there the sun was nearly always out and it was hot!  It was very humid making the mosquitoes just terrible!  But the conference was a lot of fun and it was well worth the trip.   

This year in July our family will again be attending the CCYA Show and Conference only this year we only have to go half as far as it is being held in Saskatoon.  I’m sure that I will reacquaint with the people I meet last year as well as make new friends.  There should be a strong turnout as it is a very central location.  The thing to remember about the conference is that you don’t have to take cattle you can go and compete in everything else.  There is also a commercial division for any females that are visibly Charolais cross (tan, silver, etc). For any of you interested in becoming a Charolais youth member or you are interested in attending the conference you can feel free to contact me or check out the Charolais youth website attached below. 

Canadian Charolais Youth Association
http://youth.charolais.com/

CCYA Conference 2011 Entries
http://youth.charolais.com/Documents/2011%20CCYA%20Conference%20Registration%20Form.pdf

Until next time,

Luke