Competition: Photo of the Year!

Do you want to earn the rank of best YPA photographer and be the first recipient of the PYPA "Photo of the Year" Trophy?

Well here is how you can, simply submit your best photos from any PYPA (or joint) event to the committee either by Facebook, Twitter or Email between January 1st 2013 until 1st December 2013. The committee will pick the best five photo's of the year and give the PYPA the chance to pick their favorite. The winner will be presented with the trophy at 2013 AGM.

 The small print,

• Photo entry's can only be accepted by PYPA members. For a photo to be considered the owner must still be a member of the association
• Committee members are allowed to enter and vote.
• In the event of a tie the committee will make the deciding vote. If this again is tied the president will make the final decision.
• The committee's and president have the final word on any dealings with the competition.
• The Trophy remains the property of the PYPA. The winner will hand over to the subsequent winner on the following AGM. If the winner leaves the association the trophy must be returned to a member of the committee.

Notice: Social Media

Yes the PYPA as joined the Social Media revolution with both a Facebook page and a Twitter Account, pick your choice or if your rocket keen follow both!

Of course we will always have our website. What we need from you is photo's, do you have pictures from recent events, if so sent them in and see the best put up online.

If you have ideas for events or want to see something more from your PYPA please let us know.

Event: Go Karting

It may have taken a while to finally organise but I can say it was worth the wait! We had a good turnout of 11 racers who were ready to compete for podium position. The racers first completed their practise qualifying laps and then it was on to the race.bIt was a tense and exhilarating race with Ben and David fighting for first place! However from a devious undertaking maneuver from Ben sent both himself and David into the barrier on the second to last lap! And from out of nowhere Chris raced into the lead to won the race!

So congratulations for our podium winners:

1. Chris 
2. Ben 
3. David

And everyone else who took part!

EGM: Constitution Changes

After recent discussions with HR it was suggested that we align our YPA year with that of the rest of the company and finance.

This would give the following benefits;

• New graduates would have more chance to get involved with the YPA before having to apply for positions
• Just one joint fund and PYPA fund payment for each year, rather that half of two payments.
• Christmas party will be organized by an experience committee.

The drawbacks;

• The current committee will run up to January
• Two Christmas party will be paid for out of one fund payment

The motion was passed with a majority vote of the association and this will mean the next AGM will occur in December for a new committee to take over in January 2014.

Thanks for everyone who to the time to attend.

Event: Gosport Winterfest

The Gosport WinterFest it's XX1st year and had a great atmosphere and plenty of great beers and ciders - There were over 80 real ales plus ciders and perries. Members of the YPA went in strong with one aim, to try as many tasty drinks as possible!

Event: Rancho Steak House

A brave and slightly crazy bunch of YPA members decided to embark on one of Portsmouth greatest food challenges. The unlimited BBC ribs at Rancho Steak House.  Nearly all members were defeated on the first place, but one member member came out on top, finishing just under two plates.  Congratulations to Nick and better luck next time everyone.

Event: Christmas Party

It’s starting to get cold which means one thing, winter is coming and so is Christmas. So to celebrate your lovely YPA has decided to take you all out for dinner at no other than Rosie's Vineyard. With our own private area everyone got cracking on the terrible jokes and showing off there Christmas jumpers. Thanks everyone for attending and making it a magical evening!

Joint Event: Christmas Party

Brave YPA astronauts dressed as their favorite Celestial body, Spacecraft, Alien or Space Adventurer went along to the Space Thames and climbed aboard the Space Boat for a trip up and down the twisty Space lanes of the Thames. After finishing the food rations, there was only one thing to do, cracking out the medical alcohol.

Event: 007 Skyfall

When Bond's latest assignment goes gravely wrong and agents around the world are exposed, MI6 is attacked forcing M to relocate the agency. These events cause her authority and position to be challenged by Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes), the new Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee. With MI6 now compromised from both inside and out, M is left with one ally she can trust: Bond. 007 takes to the shadows - aided only by field agent, Eve (Naomie Harris) - following a trail to the mysterious Silva (Javier Bardem), whose lethal and hidden motives have yet to reveal themselves

Event: New Members Dinner

YPA members turned out strong to welcome the new members to the association at one of our favorites   the Lord Palmerston. Everyone crowded round for a cheeky curry night. Once again a big warm welcome to all our new members and hope that you enjoy our upcoming events.

Event: Go Ape

On the best Saturday of September a group of us set off into the wild for an afternoon where we encountered tree-top high wires crossings, wind-in-your-face zip wires and heart pounding Tarzana swings! We had laughs all the way round and everyone managed to take the extreme routes and survive!

 Thanks to Julian for the fantastic photos!

Event: Planetarium 'Patterns'

The second planetarium trip of year and just as amazing as the first. Again everyone got to wonder round the INTECH Planetarium displays and see the truly inspiring ‘Flight Through the Universe’ show but the best event of the night was the lecture on the Patterns of Juggling. This involved a mathematician who explained the art of juggling though mathematical patterns and also got to show off his brilliant juggling skills (5 balls + tricks)! Was another great night at the Planetarium.

Event: Cinema Trip - "The Watch"

The Watch stars Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, and Richard Ayoade. The film follows Evan (Stiller), Bob (Vaughn), Franklin (Hill), and Jamarcus (Ayoade), a group of neighbors who form a suburban neighborhood watch group. When they uncover an alien plot that threatens the world, they are forced into action.

Thanks to all the YPA member that attend this event, and shared in the almost continuous laughter!

Joint Event: Farnborough Air Show

Farnborough International Air Show - a chance for companies to show of what they have to offer, this year was no different! With some rather interesting flying displays from the aircraft seeing a mixture of their good and poor weather condition displays. Rather interesting to see just what an A380 can really do!

Got any good photo's? Share them with the PYPA and see the best ones online!

Event: 007 Murder Mystery Dinner

MI17's elite espionage experts plan an uneasy truce with the Russians, but someone is plotting to spoil the party at the Groundlings Theatre. Despicable villains, sexy Bond Girls and plenty of laughs in an evening of entertainment in which the YPA decide whodunnit. Two teams of the YPA had to look for clues, work out puzzles and not get fooled by the red herrings to work out who killed  James Bond, the Russian ambassador and more importantly why?

Both's teams were not far off, but indeed it was Odd-Bod a lonely ex-villain turned servant who just wanted to be loved. 

Joint Event: Paintballing

This years paintball joint event between Portsmouth, Stevenage and SSTL was held at Holmbush Paintball down in Crawley. It was an early start on the Saturday morning but we had a good turn out of about 35 people. The main teams were Portsmouth verses Stevenage with SSTL splitting up to balance out the 2 teams.

The Stevenage team got off to a great start allowing them to secure victory in the first game. Sadly this trend dominated thought out the rest of the day granting Stevenage the overall winners with a scored of 74 to Portsmouth's -6. There were a lot of good shots though out the day and some lovely souvenirs bruises to go along with them. Over it was a great day out where everybody managed to make it home alive. Bring on next years paintballing! Portsmouth will have its revenge!

Event: Bowling

Thank you to everyone for coming along to the PYPA Bowling Tournament at Bowplex Gunwharf Quays. It was a lot of fun! The winner of the YPA Trophy and Bowlplex Highest Score was Nick, and winner of the Bowlplex Wooden Spoon was Faye. Congratulations to both! We hope that you all will be able to join us next year to continue the success of the PYPA Bowling Tournament.

Thank you -  Alex, Ashley, Chloe, Claire, Craig, David, Faye, Henery, Joe H, Joe B, Natalie, Nick and Tim for attending the event!