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-- Eugene L., Assistant Patrol Leader / Webmaster, Star, May 2014
Camporee is where troops from all over the district annually come and compete against each other to display their skills. The better the completion of the events, the more points are awarded. This year is also the first Camporee of Rancho San Joaquin district which spun off from Rancho Del Mar district last year.
Every Camporee starts from constructing our fancy entrance and suspended flag pole at Friday night. Our famous suspended flagpole applies balance and tension to suspend it above the ground. To construct the flagpole and the gate, the scouts split into teams, each one making the flagpole, the supports, or the entrance. We assemble modules under Mr. A's guidance. Because of better efficiency and quality, we finished earlier than previous two Camporees. Our flagpole was the tallest flagpole this year. As usual, many of the other troops stopped by and took pictures of our constructions.
In general, there are 10 competitions in every Camporee. Troop 622 and Pablo were in charge of the scout knowledge competition this year. The scout knowledge competition is where patrols are quizzed on Boy Scout and U.S. history. The objection of the knot competition is to tie as many knots as possible in one minute. We prepared beforehand at the meetings to teach the new scouts as many of the knots as possible, such as taut line, bowline, and the double half hitch. The first-aid relay is where scouts have to demonstrate their knowledge of the different types of carries in the shortest amount of time, with a tin of water on top, so that the carry is stable. One of the newer competitions was skit making. Our patrol decided to do a skit about a patrol who did not know what to do for their skit competition and decided to test out different ideas. For the map and compass competition, our patrol was awarded bonus points because of allowing all of the scouts to participate. For the fire-starting event, we accidentally put too many pieces of wood into the fire, causing it to smother and die down. As a result, we lost time and had to get a new wood stick and match, where we shoved it directly into the fire and earned points. Anthony advised the other patrols to do the same, and as a result the Happy Snowmen patrol earned first place.
On the second morning, the Camporee organizers distributed the awards based on the quality and speed of the competitions. All three patrols earned the Big Bear award that replaced White Buffalo award from this year.
Gallery 2014 Camporee
The patrols have to perform their yells for the commissioners. If the commissioners like the yell, the scouts can ask whether the commissioner has a card that is an aspect of the scout law. If the commissioner has the card, he will reward it to the patrol. Once the patrol has all of the scout law, they can turn the set in for bonus points to be added to their score from the various activities to earn the Big Bear Patch.
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