Ideabase - Camping Competition

Ideabase

Introduction

This set of files contains all you need to run a Camping Competition.

Where did the idea come from?

When I was ADC Scouts we decided to revamp our Camping Competition. In the end we turned it into a two tier Competition. We had the Len Bridge Trophy which was open to all inexperienced patrols. This was for Scouts of all abilities, even if they had no camping skills whatsoever. Each Patrol were assigned a leader mentor and they were helped all through the weekend. The winners of this trophy were the most improved, not the best campers, but those that had learned the most and showed signs of improvement. The other tier was the St. George's Competition. This was only open to experienced Patrols as they would receive no leader help at all. The judging in this section was much stricter and it was a traditional competition. The winners of this trophy also got to lead the St. George's Day Parade!


Do they really make a difference?

In the first few years we ran this attendance improved massively and at one point we had 13 Patrols in the Novice category and 8 Patrols in the Expert category. Scouts who entered the Novice section first came on in leaps and bounds and really enjoyed the experience with there being no pressure on them to perform perfectly but more an emphasis on working together and learning.

OK, How do I go about making them then??

I constructed my original materials using Microsoft Word 97 and Publisher 2000. You can make use of templates and ready made files/wizards to give you the basic layout that you prefer. A simple modification of the text can give you a usable challenge in a short amount of time.