Olympic Camp

This weekend we ran our Olympic Capers Camp at the Loans Scout Hall.
In total we had 15 Beavers and Cubs, all of whom seemed to have a great time. Personally I missed the start not being able to arrive until the end of Friday's activities. By the time I arrived I missed the Opening Ceremony, supper, the Entertainment, the Hike, and the Glow Sticks. All I got was the film before bed.

Saturday morning dawned early, but was a dry day.
We all tucked into breakfast of cereal, eggs, bacon, sausage, square sausage, hash brown and beans because we had a busy day ahead of us.
After breakfast the teams had their colours painted onto their faces and it was outside for the first three events: welly toss, long puck, and a sock lob.
After these three we had our first relay race. This was a long one. The five stages covered the entire perimeter of the field outside the hall. And they had three permutations to run giving them all a good workout. After a short break we resumed with our archery competition.

While lunch was being prepared, the Beavers and Cubs produced drawings of their favourite moments so far.

This soon evolved into a paper air plane construction master-class.

After lunch it was back outside for the team pole vaulting relay race (which was actually very funny to watch). Then the toughest assignment so far - The cream cracker challenge - the first person to eat a cream cracker and then whistle! Much, much harder than it sounds.
We finished the day of with a game of rounders.
Back in the hall for the closing ceremony and awarding of badges which took quite a long time:
The Beavers all earned their Nights Away, Hikes Away, Adventure and Health & Fitness badges



while the Cubs earned their Nights Away, Hikes Away, Entertainer and Outdoor Challenge badges.

Everyone who attended also earned their Olympic badge and a commemorative trophy.

Passports

We had an energetic evening tonight.
After warming the Cubs up with a game of hockey we settled them right down by fingerprinting them for their Olympic Camp Passport which they will need this weekend.
This led us into the discussion about some do and don't for this weekends camp:

• Do have the right gear and let us know if you won't have it;
• Don't bring any battery powered items except torches. No phones, mp3s, laptops or psps;
• Do bring old clothes, not you best new outfit as we will be outside;
• Don't leave things laying about as they will probably get wet;
• Do bring some sweets;
• Do not bring so much sweets that you make yourself sick.
• Do have fun!

After some rowdy Port Starboard and Jump the rope we awarded some badges - 3 pet carers and one IT proficiency badge which the Cub worked on at home.

Funky Chicken

Played a new game tonight, involving a  rubber chicken.
Is a variation of an old favourite where the cubs have to crawl between the legs of the rest of their team and be the first to make the rubber chicken squeak.

That's a rubber chicken they are racing towards

Its amazing how much fun a rubber chicken can bring to a party!
We then split the pack. The cubs who were present last session completed the final tasks on their Home Safety badge with Dave and Gillian (Akela and Otter) while the new cubs came with me (Bagheera) and the youth leaders to explain about the Promise, the history and what is involved with their upcoming investiture.
After a snack we played a few sessions of Jump the rope and finished off the night with a couple of rounds of the 60second game.
After the flag break we handed out the Home Safety Badges to the cubs who completed the activities.

Olympic Capers Camp

The Cubs and the Beavers will be camping out on the night of 14th September at the Loans Scout Hall.
Meet at the Hall at 7.15pm.
Collect from the Scout Hall at 3.15pm 15th Sept

The Kit List for this event is:

Complete uniform
Warm sweaters, jumpers or sweatshirts
T-shirts or similar
Trousers or shorts
Spare underclothes (one pair per day)
Spare socks (one pair per day)
Nightwear
Hike boots or strong shoes
Waterproof (coat and trousers)
Swimwear and towel
Hankies
Personal washing requirements and towel
Scarf, hat and gloves
Sun hat, sun cream and sun glasses
Sleeping bag
Foam roll / karrimat
Plate, bowl, mug and cutlery
Tea towel
Torch and spare batteries
Personal first aid kit
Day sack and plastic drinks bottle
Polythene bags (for dirty clothes)
Teddy! (Optional)


It is best to pack a rucksack or sports bag that you can carry on your back. Suitcases are not suitable for tents.
All items should be clearly labelled with the young person’s name.

Global Challenge Badge

Tonight we started on our Global Challenge Badge.
As with many of the badges this is a multi-part activity to be carried out over a number of weeks, with work to be done at home.
Each cub will have to complete four of six activities.
This week we focused on step 1: Find out about the traditions, culture, food, religion and other interesting characteristics of a country different from your own.
With this in mind we started the evening with a game of Dingos and Hunters. This involved the Dingos wearing a tail and going off into the field to hide. The hunters were then let loose to capture the tail.
We then sampled Anzac biscuits and Damper bread. Akela explained the history behind both of these foods.
One of the young leaders then entertained us with a rendition of Waltzing Matilda. Akela translated and explained some of the more obscure Australian English words.
As the weather was still good, the Cubs finished the evening out in the park.

And the Leaders sang Waltzing Matilda...

2012 - 2013 Session Starts

Tonight was our first night back for the new session.
We had a busy night with 10 Cubs present - 8 from last year and two new boys, one who has moved up from Beavers.

After reminding them about what we do it was straight into hockey. After that thirsty work we took advantage of the OK weather and let them outside into the park.
We finished off the evening with some ball games back in the hall and a short game of Mosquito Tig.
We handed out the permission forms for the Camp out on the 14th of September - more details to follow.
We hope all the Cubs are able to attend.

End of Session Beach Party

Tonight was the end of session AGM. This year we had a very good turnout but we had to have the AGM before the BBQ. Naturally we had the food cooking already...

Once the technicalities of the meeting were complete the serious business of food was dealt with in short order. Hotdogs all round.

The sandcastle competition was quite intense...

Though not everyone agreed with the Judges decision.

The sun sets on another year for the 31st Ayrshire.
Back in August.
Have a good summer!