Youngsters had another fabulous time at the 2023 Lock-in held at Atlantis Leisure for S1 pupils.
The Lock-in, which this year was held on on Friday October 27, is an annual event organised by Hope2Oban in partnership with Atlantis Leisure and Oban High School that sees S1 pupils invited to spend all night at Atlantis for fun, games and activities.
The event has been taking place since 2005 (with a brief interval due to the Covid pandemic), with well over 2,000 young people taking part over the years.
This year, 141 S1 pupils took part, along with a handful of S6 volunteers, adult volunteers and Atlantis staff members. Members of the police and fire services also attend at the start of the night, helping to lock the doors at the start of the event.
The event started at 8.30pm and ran all the way through until 7am on Saturday morning. Activities on offer included tag archery, football, basketball, badminton, rugby, a roller disco, dodgeball, swimming (including use of the inflatable), the gym, Ora Rosa nail painting, arts and crafts, climbing, video games, and the softplay. There was also a live DJ on the night, which the young people thoroughly enjoyed.
Daniel Rimmer, the lead youth worker for Hope2Oban told The Oban Times: “Thanks to the amazing and tireless support from our many partners and volunteers, the Lock-in 2023 was a huge success!
“I also want to send a huge thanks to the 141 young people from S1 who participated, as the behaviour throughout the night was mostly exemplary. It’s always a pleasure to able to host the Lock-in, which really has become a bit of a right of passage for many of Oban’s young people,
“But H2O would not be able to do this without amazing dedication from Atlantis Leisure and its staff, our many great volunteers, and of course the S6 volunteers on the night as well.
“We hope the young people left having made new friendships and memories they will cherish for a long time to come.”
Hope2Oban (H2O) is a charitable youth organisation formed in 2003 by a group of individuals associated with each of the different Christian church denominations within Oban, and the national youth organisation known as SSC. Its aim is the serve young people by helping to meet their physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs through innovative and dynamic youth work. The team work closely with Oban High School, local primary schools and other youth work organisations, and run events such as the Lock-In for young people to have fun with their friends in a safe, relaxed environment.
