2009 at UL Activity Centre – A Season to Remember
2009 has been a busy one on Lough Derg! The season began way back in March where we kicked off with our usual influx of school tours. During the months of March, April, May and June we welcomed in the region of 3,000 Primary and Secondary school kids through our gates and provided them with an action packed school tour to remember. With many teachers already booking their tour dates for the 2010 season this really is a true testament to the high quality professional service we provide. The weekends of spring were filled with adult skills courses, adult groups and our newest client groups, stags and hens, all enjoying the adventurous activities on offer at ULAC. As a result of this new demand we are delighted to be launching www.stagsandhensireland.com very soon. It was at this stage that we also launched our new Sporting Teams Packages - The Derg and The Crag Challenges. The Louth Senior Hurlers were the first of many to test out these ultimate physical land and water based challenges and by all accounts were pushed to their limits.
During the months of July and August the Centre was its usual hive of activity with on average 70 new summer campers each week. Catering for ages from 6-17 years, our intrepid adventurers sailed the waters of Lough Derg, scaled the High Ropes Course, kayaked to nearby Killaloe village and took aim on our Crag Wood Archery range. Again these happy campers are already looking to book their places on next years camps. The summer months also saw the first ever Adventure Race Training Day being run at ULAC. The purpose of the day was to introduce aspiring adventure racers to the fastest growing sport in Ireland - Adventure Racing. It was a huge success and marks the start of some similarly new and exciting outdoor training courses at ULAC.
In the media spotlight we worked with Sky Sports during the Heineken Cup Rugby season where we facilitated the famous rugby brothers Paul and David Wallace to shoot some leisurely sailing for a Lions documentary. We also facilitated Emma O’ Driscoll and Liam Kerins as they prepared St. Patricks Football Team for the hit show Celebrity Bainisteoir and more recently ULAC worked with RTE on a new series due to hit our screens in the new year. Watch this space!
As the summer came to a close it was time to welcome schools back again with specialist team building Transition Year and Leaving Cert Applied programmes on offer that are sure to bond any group. September is also a busy month with both on and off site events. We have already played host to the Irish Sailing Association Multi Hull Nationals and more and more organisations are availing of our off site team building activities. Yes, we will now come to you and run a team-building day for you. We recently ran a team event for the staff of Presentation Secondary School on the grounds of the Castleoaks House Hotel. A delicious lunch meeting followed a busy morning of team bonding activities, which were enjoyed by all.
Finally last weekend saw the launch of our new Sailing Academy. The Academy is aimed at accomplished young sailors who would like to train towards becoming qualified sailing Instructors. You can follow a full account of our Academy Sailors on our news blog at www.ulac.ie
It is hard to believe but we have now completed another hectic spring and summer season at ULAC and are looking forward to a busy autumn/winter schedule. We would like to thank all of our clients who have visited this year and we look forward to welcoming you all back in the near future. Don't forget there is still plenty of time to pay us a visit, we are open right up until Christmas, so whether you are looking for a School tour, Corporate day out, Stag or Hen party or even a Christmas Party, give us a call on 061-376622, visit our website at www.ulac.ie or email info@ulac.ie We are waiting to hear from you.
Yours in adventure
The ULAC Team
