This newsletter is edited from time to time to be more accurate and is also shared with your parents. Last edit 29 January 2025.
Congratulations for your Bronze registration. Adventure is just around the corner! The aim of the Practice Journey is to put into practice what you learned in class so that you will be ready for the Qualifying Journey that will follow.
The following Journeys will take place and your team leader has already booked to participate in a Journey. If not, then please hurry. We need to know so that we will proceed and make things happen.
Bronze Adventurous Journeys dates: | |
Bronze Practice A Departure: 15/11/2024 Friday Return: 16/11 Saturday |
Bus departs at 14:45 from the Senior School Expected return 17:00 |
Bronze Practice B Departure: 29/11/2024 Friday Return: 30/11 Saturday |
Bus departs at 14:30 from GC School Expected return 17:00 |
Bronze Practice C Departure: 30/11/2024 Saturday Return: 1/12 Sunday |
Bus departs at 14:30 from the Senior School Expected return 17:00 |
Bronze Qualifying A Departure: 22/2/2025 Saturday Return: 23/2 Sunday |
Bus departs at 12:00 from the Senior School Expected return 17:00 |
Bronze Qualifying B Departure: 8/3/2025 Saturday Return: 9/3 Sunday |
Bus departs at 12:00 from the Senior School Expected return 17:00 |
Useful information
- Bronze Practice & Qualifying Adventurous Journeys take place in the wider area of Macheras Forest, Nicosia district unless otherwise specified.
- Departure (please be at the parking lot 15 minutes prior to departure):
- On Fridays all buses depart from the parking lot of your school: 14:30 from GC school and 14:45 from the Senior school unless otherwise specified
- On Saturdays all buses depart only from the Senior School (map location CLICK HERE)
- Arrival location & expected return: All buses return to the Senior School unless otherwise specified. Sometimes there is a delay caused by late arrival of a team at the finish. To avoid parents waiting for you, let them know that they will receive an SMS from the Adventurous Journey Supervisor with the final arrival time as soon as the bus departs.
Prerequisites for participating in Bronze Adventurous Journeys and DOWNLOADS:
- A participant can join a Bronze Practice Journey only if they have an active ORB account with One Step Further. In case your account is not updated with your latest activities you can still participate in the journeys although we recommend updating your ORB account every week. It is your responsibility to update your ORB account. CLICK HERE to access the ORB tutorials. In case you need further support please send your request to award@onestepfurther.com.cy. We support ORB requests only via e-mail.
- A participant can join a Bronze Practice Journey only after the completion of the training at school.
- A participant can join a Bronze Qualifying Journey only after completing a Bronze Practice Journey. Attendance at the pre-Qualifying meeting at school is mandatory.
- The Bronze Qualifying Journey should not happen more than four months apart from the Bronze Practice Journey.
- The dates of all Adventurous Journeys are fixed and cannot change.
- In case a participant will not show up at a scheduled Bronze Journey, there is a chance there will be no alternative journey offered within the same academic year. They will be able to register at an extra charge for a Bronze Journey in the following academic year only if there is an available space within a team.
- In case a participant does their Practice Journey and does not attend the Qualifying Journey, they will have to register for both journeys in the following academic year, as the two must be within less than four months apart.
- CLICK HERE to OPEN the e-MEDICAL & CONSENT FORM. Your parent/guardian must complete this form online before your first journey.
- CLICK HERE to DOWNLOAD the EQUIPMENT LIST. You must be properly equipped according to Award guidelines.
More information regarding Team and Personal EQUIPMENT:
- Rucksacks: All participants must have their own rucksack that meets the recommended specifications. It will be good if the rucksack will be the one we recommend.
- Tents: According to the tents arrangement of every team you will receive a tent per three or four persons from us on the spot. We will collect the tents as soon as you finish. The tents we use are of high quality and cost €300 each. We expect from you to use them with care. In case a team will cause any kind of damage to a tent, tent mates must cover the cost of repair or replacement.
- Cooking set, stove, fuel and compasses: Each team must have their own cooking pots & stove model PRIMUS Essential Cooking Stove for their safety and enough gas canisters with a screw on valve that will fit the specific stove. You should also have two compasses: one SILVA Ranger and one SILVA Field.
- Personal equipment: We will check the specifications of the following for your safety: hiking boots, rucksack, sleeping bag, sleeping mat, waterproofs (jacket & over-pants). We recommend you buy the Value Pack. More details about the Value Pack were shared in a previous newsletter that you can access if you CLICK HERE. Although the proposed Value Pack IS NOT MANDATORY, we kindly ask you to trust us on this matter. This equipment will accompany you for almost three and a half years on long hikes in adverse weather conditions. If you don’t select your gear wisely you might face several issues (lack of quality and reliability) for the next 2 years that could force you to buy the right things again, which is unnecessary. In addition to the technical specifications, price is an indication of quality. We encourage you to purchase your equipment from our Get Out store (Arsinois 18A Acropolis, tel: 22311012). We have the equipment recommended by the Award at the suggested EU retail prices. In addition, we offer you a 15% discount. If you choose Get Out for your purchases, you will be certain that you have chosen the right equipment at the right price and you will avoid buying products that either do not meet the recommended specifications or are not worth the money.
- Please prepare your gear according to the equipment list and do it yourself. We prefer you come unprepared than prepared by your parents 😊
- Food: Eat lunch before departure. Organize your meals in groups per day (breakfast, lunch, dinner & 2 additional snacks between meals) as we described during our meetings.
- Options for breakfast: porridge (oat & hot water), cereal, tahini pie, bread etc
- Options for lunch:
- canned protein foods like tuna, shrimp, sardines, salmon, chicken, baked beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, chickpeas, and lentils
- canned vegetables (corn, green beans, carrots, mushrooms, beets, asparagus)
- Options for dinner: pasta, rice, vegetables (zucchini, broccoli etc), sausages etc. You must cook your dinner according to Award regulations
- Options for snacks: Cookies, energy bars, a fruit like banana or apple, nuts & dried fruit
- Water and water supply: You must carry multi-use lightweight unbreakable water containers for sufficient hydration. For most people 2 x 0.75 L total 1.5 Liters per day is enough but it depends on the amount of water you are used to consume, your body weight, the amount and type of food you eat, the temperature and the type of exercise. It is your responsibility to carry as much water as you need. There will be running water every night as soon as you arrive at camp and every morning before you depart so that you can fill up your containers. In case of wild camping we will supply you with water every night and every morning.
Some more useful information
- We are always happy supporting you directly. We are available at award@onestepfurther.com.cy and on 22254612 office hours, daily from 9am to 5pm. Do not bother your parents and do not ask from them to communicate on your behalf. This is your Award, not your parents’ Award. Be responsible, you can. Of course, your parents can call us for clarifications or other issues.
- If your Journey starts on a Friday after school most probably there won’t be enough time to go home and be back to school on time so either you have to bring your rucksack to school with you in the morning and arrange with the school to leave it somewhere safe and pick it up before you depart and leave your school clothes and books there or a parent must bring your rucksack on time and take your school clothes and bag back home.
- During the excursions you will not be able to contact your parents. According to Award regulations, you cannot have your mobile phones with you so please leave them at home. You can have up to two mobile phones per team, turned off and sealed to be opened in case of an emergency. In case you have a phone with you you must hand it to us. We will keep it inside a box, however we cannot be held responsible for any loss or damage, this why we advise you to leave it at home. Please bring a camera to take pictures and videos. You cannot have a GPS device and/or any other tracking device like air tags etc
- Please ask your parents not to contact us during journeys just to ask if you are okay. If something unexpected happens, we will let them know. No news is good news. If your parents need to contact me for an emergency, they can call me personally at 99359214 (Marios).
- Do not ask your parents to wait for you at the expected return time. You will call them as soon as you get on the bus to inform them about the exact time of your arrival. There is always a possibility for delay due to late arrival of a team at the finish.
- Sometimes we upload some general photos on social media. Please follow our page @onestepfurthercy on Instagram and Facebook to see the photos.
- Weather conditions: In general, we do not postpone excursions due to weather conditions unless a red warning is issued by the Meteorological Service. When there is an orange warning, we assess the seriousness of the situation and decide accordingly. In case of a yellow warning, we take the necessary safety measures in organizing outdoor activities so that everything goes well. Part of the importance we attach to the issue of equipment, which we have made extensive references to. In the language of mountaineering, we say that “There is no bad weather. There’s bad equipment.”
- What happens if a participant is not able to join a journey:
- In case of cancellation for a serious reason like a health issue, a participant must bring a supporting document signed by a licensed physician so that they can join a future Adventurous Journey without additional charges.
- In case of cancellation for a personal reason like exams, a participant must bring a supporting document signed by their teacher at least 15 days before the date of departure so that they can join a future Adventurous Journey without additional charges.
- In case of no-show a participant must pay an additional fee of 50 euros per expedition day to be able to join another future Adventurous Journey.
We wish you enjoy your journeys in the best possible way!
Marios Hadjipetris, Award Coordinator