Leisure

Below you will find a selection of the most recent entries from bloggers in our Leisure section.

To view the entries from individual bloggers, click on the links below:

Jo Beveridge is the current Chairman of GAOS, Geneva’s English-speaking musical theatre group which has been entertaining audiences for over 50 years. With a diverse membership of more than 300 people from various backgrounds and nationalities, GAOS thrives on inclusivity and community spirit.

Steve Long

Steve Long is CEO of InterSoccer, which offers football courses and holiday camps for two to 13-year-olds in Geneva, Vaud, Basel, Zug and Zurich. Steve first came to Switzerland in 2001 as an event and grassroots manager for UEFA, before co-founding InterSoccer in 2007. He loves all sports, especially football, snowboarding, tennis, golf and mountain biking. Originally from Nottingham, UK, he still supports The Mighty Reds - Nottingham Forest.
Oguzhan (Osan) Altun
Oguzhan (Osan) Altun is a freelance photographer based in Geneva, and one of the founder members of the Geneva Photo Club. He specializes in landscapes, portraits and event photography. His teaching style combines 10 years of training experience in corporate life with contagious passion for photography and the best training materials available online on the net. He is crisp, to the point, and focused on getting the participant practice what she/he learned.

Yvette Evers
As the founder of "fraiche air", a local club providing opportunities for outdoor recreation and tourism in English, Yvette has hundreds of ideas for exploring the region including activities such as hiking, showshoeing, powerwalks, ski-touring and family days.

: Published: 17 February 2025

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Photos from GAOS shows: Twenty, High School Musical, and Aladdin

by Jo Beveridge, GAOS

Chairing the largest English-speaking musical theatre group in the Romandie, I am sometimes asked why do people get involved in musical theatre groups?

The most obvious reasons of course, is love of music or dance or acting and the sheer fun it!

On stage

But, for some, it is the first step on careers in the performing arts. This could be on the creative or performing side or the technical and production side. Where better to get pre-professional experience than in a good amateur theatre group? We have had young people start in our youth shows go on to study the technical side of theatre and work in production. For example, Owen Donkin spent many a Summer on stage with us then went onto to study Theatre Practice, Technical and Production Management at Central School of Speech and Drama then worked at Covent Garden Opera House, The Vaults and The National Theatre.

Others have stayed on the performing side and appeared on stage or made dance or music their profession. Sha Dessi appeared in many of our shows, starting with panto, then went to theatre school and went on to star in the West End as Eponine in Les Misérables in 2022. Gareth Donkin was 9 years old when he first took part in a GAOS Youth show and went on to appear in many shows and then gaining a degree in music production from the Leeds Conservatoire. His debut album was released last year.

Off stage

Other have become events managers (a skill very closely linked to stage management), opened dance schools, become drama teachers, or become choreographers.

: Published: 12 January 2023

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By Oguzhan (Osan) Altun, Swiss Photo Club

Happy new year to all our followers, from me and our team: Joan, Quim & Jean-Baptiste (JB)! We wish you a great 2023 with lots of beautiful memories and their beautiful photos captured by you.

With this blog article, I wanted to share with you some big changes that we did in 2022 and our plans for 2023.

It’s the first time we do this. Let me know if you find it interesting (or not!) and of course if you have any recommendations / ideas.

New Website
We are finally on swissphotoclub.com: a single website for all the regions and countries where we exist. I will spare you a description of the administrative changes, but here are the advantages for you:

See all classes in all cities at one place, especially a great advantage for members or if you are looking for a specific course in any city.
Practice workshops listing with photos: Easier to find your workshop.
Early bird discounts for courses: You will see that future classes are slightly cheaper.
Much faster load times
Immediate delivery of gift voucher orders (we used to prepare each manually).
Photo Awards: Upload your photos directly instead of having to send us later by email.
See your registrations and orders in your account.

There are still some bugs here and there, plus a few server issues that we are working on. Please keep on reporting if you see anything, we will keep on fixing them and adding new features in 2023.

: Published: 17 March 2022

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By Oguzhan (Osan) Altun, Swiss Photo Club

You’ve started to take some nice photos with your phone, and you get compliments from your friends and family… Now you feel like you would like to take the next step and learn how to use a proper camera to take even better pictures. As a photography school that educates more than 2000 students every year, we put together this guide of how to learn photography for you.

Many people give up after a while because they make choose wrong classes, too many “free” online guides and videos. Don’t repeat their mistakes! Read this article now to discover the best way how to learn photography.

Decide on your goal
Do you want to start a new hobby? Become a pro? Exhibit your photos? Take better photos of your newborn?

It will be much easier to make choices if you’re already clear on what you want. In many cases, it’s a good idea to start with a beginners workshop, even if you know some basics from past experience. This can help avoid one common trap, where people stall later in their photography journey because they skipped ahead, without ever mastering the technical skills that are taught in the beginner level.

Choose the correct sequence of courses
Once you decide which photography school is right for you, you must then select which course(s) to sign up for. First, you must consider two factors:

Determine your level
We recommend our online test to get an idea. In our observation, many people who think they are intermediate level still benefit a lot from a comprehensive beginners course. If you already know what you want, you can skip this step.
Determine your availability and budget
Half / full day workshops usually take place on a weekend, in a very concentrated form. Choose this format if you’re already very busy and just want to check your interest level before committing more hours. You will learn a lot from a good one-day course, but they require you to practice regularly afterwards to retain what you learn.

: Published: 02 July 2020

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By Steve Long, InterSoccer, and Olivia Higgs, Intern

Covid-19 has made life a little hectic for all families the past few months, to say the least. Sports and Leisure Camps have finally been given the green light to go forward and InterSoccer Fun Football Camps are now up and running for the summer as well as many quality camps in the area. Our excitement for outdoor sports remained, we have never been happier to be back!

Being a parent is difficult as it is, but all camp organizers have ensured that health and safety measures are meeting the community guidelines. Following directives from the Swiss government, your children’s safety will be paramount this summer as everyone looks to get back to normal life.

Lockdown pushed families to the limits. Nonetheless, times are changing and slowly progressing to get everyone back to our normal routines. It’s important for this summer to make sure that your children are staying fit, healthy and most importantly of all, happy and having fun.

For children, after such a long period of time without social interaction and seeing their best friends, a perfect way is to pass some of the holiday is to join some of the fantastic summer camps on offer in the region.