Although the Weymouth 2012 Media Camp is over the blog is being updated by a relay (yes all the sporting cliches!) of young citizen journalist contributors who’ve done brilliant work to create a portrait of the seaside town handsomely dressed up in Olympic gear! After a high-speed introduction to using smartphones for blogging and a day of trial posts, the team were soon up and running with the whole idea and spoilt for choose on topics to cover as you’ll see when you visit their blog.

Having the #media2012 accreditation for the participants was a real bonus as it gave them a credibility that’s not so easy to achieve when all you you’ve got to interview someone with is a smartphone – they don’t look that professional but the passes did provide authority. One was lost ‘in action’ but soon retrieved as result of the excellent contact information built into the passes and a helpful passer-by!

There’s also an overview of the project and photographs on the RELAYS at Watershed website and some more detail about organising the media camp here. We’re hoping to add some photos to the #media2012 flickr group soon but after the success of this venture we’re already planning a new citizen journalism project or two for the near future so busy times!

Starting on July 1, RELAYS at Watershed has a month long public programme of talks, events and screenings focusing on where sport and media meet, mix and overlap. We’ve been working on the RELAYS project for four years now so this is a great way to bring the project to a climax and to the attention of wider audiences, and we think there’s something for everyone! From veteran cyclist Tommy Godwin in conversation with David Goldblatt to Asterix at the Olympics; from Ethiopia to Nicaragua (via Mongolia!), and from marathon running to ping pong – we think we’ve included topics that will appeal to all ages, tastes and sporting inclinations!

The July programme is part of the Cultural Olympiad and full details of all events can be found here.

Another feature of July for the RELAYS at Watershed project will be the #media2012 Media Camp in Weymouth from July 27th to July 30th where students from Bristol and Weymouth will be trained in citizen journalism techniques and then sent out into the action-packed environment of Weymouth with smartphones to cover, via blog posts, both cultural and sporting activity related to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. We’ve created the Media Camp in assocation with Dr Emma Rich at Bath University, Weymouth College and as part of Maritime Mix. See our citizen journalism blog for background to the project – and watch this space for updates!