00:00:03 My name is Phil Quill, I'm the Director at Calshot Activity Centre, which is effectively the Centre Manager. What I enjoy about my job is the, you know, the variety of things that I do. It has to be said though that a large part of my job, you know, today is about driving a desk. I mean it's 25 or so you know years that I've been working in Outdoor Centres, and undoubtedly it was the opportunity to get outside, rather than be stuck behind a desk, which is what attracted me initially to, you know, working in Outdoor Centres. But you know I still get you know enormous pleasure from the you know the thousands of young people who come through the doors here at Calshot.
00:00:44 Canoeing and kayaking was what got me into this kind of, you know, kind of game. It was something that, you know, I went to a Centre like Calshot as a youngster, when I was sort of 14, got passionate about - about canoeing and kayaking, and when I left school, and I immediately went and worked at an Outdoor Centre. And actually getting the experience of working in an Outdoor Centre, it helped to me to confirm that yes, actually that was a career path that I wanted to take.
00:01:20 Did that for probably 15 months or so, and then decided - or then recognised - that actually to move forward within that kind of a game, actually I needed to go and get some more qualifications. So that's when I went to Teacher Training College in order to learn how to be a teacher. At Teacher Training College, the one thing I learnt there was actually I didn't want to be a teacher, but it did stand me in good stead for again working in - in a Centre, where a large part of the work actually is about education.
00:01:44 Travelling is something that I enjoy, you know, hugely. And I have been fortunate that through the activities that I do, and partly you know through some of the jobs that I've had, that actually I've managed to travel a lot. And going to different places not just as a tourist, but going different places actually in order to do an activity - be it canoeing, sailing, wind surfing, you know, mountaineering - actually I think you're able to bypass that - Oh he's just another tourist - and actually you're able to get much closer to different cultures. So I think that would be top of my list - travelling.
00:02:26 I've been lucky enough to travel in Greenland, in North West Greenland, with the Inuit people. Spent, you know, two weeks on a boat travelling with them, and two weeks on a dog sledge with them travelling again, so that was a pretty unique experience that I definitely want to repeat. And the race that I definitely want to do again, is an outrigger canoe race for a six man, forty foot long, outrigger canoe between the Hawaiian islands of Oahu and Molokai. That was - that's right at the top of my list of races I want to do again.
00:02:55 What kind of gets me up in the morning is making progress, and actually making sure that, you know, the job that I'm doing today, isn't the job that I was doing last year or the year before. I mean the climbing wall that you see here, that's a recent addition to our facilities. Something that we have invested significant sums of money in terms of you know being able to develop. And I think that is again what gives you know me you know job satisfaction, is about making sure that actually the Centre is progressing, the facilities improving, the service that we're providing is improving, the courses, the activities, are cutting edge.
00:03:35 You know, big turning point in my life was undoubtedly going to a Centre like Calshot at the age of 14. Because if I hadn't done that, I wouldn't be here where I am you know today. Who knows what direction my life would have taken? But you know I've no regrets you know, everything that I've achieved, you know, professionally, lots of the travelling that I've done around the world, essentially has been through that first experience. So it was a life-chastening experience you know for me personally.
00:04:02 ENDS
Phil Quill
PHIL QUILL
My name is Phil Quill, I'm the Director at Calshot Activity Centre, which is effectively the Centre Manager. What I enjoy about my job is the, you know, the variety of things that I do. It has to be said though that a large part of my job, you know, today is about driving a desk. I mean it's 25 or so you know years that I've been working in Outdoor Centres, and undoubtedly it was the opportunity to get outside, rather than be stuck behind a desk, which is what attracted me initially to, you know, working in Outdoor Centres. But you know I still get you know enormous pleasure from the you know the thousands of young people who come through the doors here at Calshot.
Canoeing and kayaking was what got me into this kind of, you know, kind of game. It was something that, you know, I went to a Centre like Calshot as a youngster, when I was sort of 14, got passionate about - about canoeing and kayaking, and when I left school, and I immediately went and worked at an Outdoor Centre. And actually getting the experience of working in an Outdoor Centre, it helped to me to confirm that yes, actually that was a career path that I wanted to take.
Did that for probably 15 months or so, and then decided - or then recognised - that actually to move forward within that kind of a game, actually I needed to go and get some more qualifications. So that's when I went to Teacher Training College in order to learn how to be a teacher. At Teacher Training College, the one thing I learnt there was actually I didn't want to be a teacher, but it did stand me in good stead for again working in - in a Centre, where a large part of the work actually is about education.
Travelling is something that I enjoy, you know, hugely. And I have been fortunate that through the activities that I do, and partly you know through some of the jobs that I've had, that actually I've managed to travel a lot. And going to different places not just as a tourist, but going different places actually in order to do an activity - be it canoeing, sailing, wind surfing, you know, mountaineering - actually I think you're able to bypass that - Oh he's just another tourist - and actually you're able to get much closer to different cultures. So I think that would be top of my list - travelling.
I've been lucky enough to travel in Greenland, in North West Greenland, with the Inuit people. Spent, you know, two weeks on a boat travelling with them, and two weeks on a dog sledge with them travelling again, so that was a pretty unique experience that I definitely want to repeat. And the race that I definitely want to do again, is an outrigger canoe race for a six man, forty foot long, outrigger canoe between the Hawaiian islands of Oahu and Molokai. That was - that's right at the top of my list of races I want to do again.
What kind of gets me up in the morning is making progress, and actually making sure that, you know, the job that I'm doing today, isn't the job that I was doing last year or the year before. I mean the climbing wall that you see here, that's a recent addition to our facilities. Something that we have invested significant sums of money in terms of you know being able to develop. And I think that is again what gives you know me you know job satisfaction, is about making sure that actually the Centre is progressing, the facilities improving, the service that we're providing is improving, the courses, the activities, are cutting edge.
You know, big turning point in my life was undoubtedly going to a Centre like Calshot at the age of 14. Because if I hadn't done that, I wouldn't be here where I am you know today. Who knows what direction my life would have taken? But you know I've no regrets you know, everything that I've achieved, you know, professionally, lots of the travelling that I've done around the world, essentially has been through that first experience. So it was a life-chastening experience you know for me personally.
ENDS
Leisure Centre Manager/ Outdoor Activities Instructor/ Teacher
Age at filming:
46-55,
Employer's name:
Calshot Activities Centre,
Job location:
Southampton
Phil Quill is the Director at Calshot Activity Centre. A visit to an activity centre when he was 14 led him to choose this career, and he hasn't looked back since. Phil has travelled extensively to work in the outdoor recreation industry, and his aims at Calshot are to see the centre keep progressing year on year.
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