The sun is out and so are our participants in the first week of Summer Huddle Holidays, with thanks to the Department of Education and Training.

Huddle Holidays began a bit early this year with a Soccer Day from Wyndham City Youth Services, in which seven participants got involved and represented The Huddle.

The week kicked off with a Huddle Holidays favourite, the Anglesea surf trip. 18 participants caught the bus down to Anglesea Surf Lifesaving Club, going through water safety activities with the nippers before enjoying a delicious barbecue lunch. The crew then drove further down the coast to head into the surf with Go Ride A Wave to learn the ins and outs of surfing, equipped with their newly learnt water safety skills.

On Wednesday, 26 junior participants gathered at Wingate Avenue Community Centre under the gum trees to take part in the Art Experience session. The afternoon started with a performance by Djirri Djirri dancers, then the young people learnt some moves themselves and embraced the culture of First Nations peoples.

The participants got crafty after this, designing their own football guernsey that represents who they are. On behalf of the National Gallery of Victoria, the young people then drew themselves as a mermaid based on the book and exhibition ‘The Gecko and the Mermaid’ by Yolgnu artists Ms N Yunupiŋu and her sister Eunice Djerrkŋu Yunupiŋu.

Meanwhile, in the You Yangs, 15 senior participants hopped on mountain bikes with SeaEarth Adventures. Traversing through the bushland of the You Yangs National Park, participants ducked and weaved amongst the trees and over bike tracks.

The week wrapped up in an action-packed way with the Huddle Slam at Eagle Stadium. 41 participants came down to the stadium to take part in the tournaments for both girls and boys. Shooting hoops, making friends and a close grand final made for a fun-filled day for all involved.