The annual Green Beret Challenge for scouts during November is a weekend that tests strength, endurance, team work, fitness and intelligence. It is also one of the only camps where the leaders do all the cooking, cleaning and maintenance of the campsite so all the scouts get to do is turn up and enjoy all the activities!
The competition is a Hertfordshire County event which is open to visitors to take part. As we are closely linked with 2nd Hemel Hempstead Scouts we were again able to join in with their District catering facility. There were around 150 teams taking part this year.
Teams must be 6 scouts and accompanied by a few leaders, we camp with other Scout Troops, so a perfect way for our Scouts to meet other Groups as well as having an enjoyable weekend! The main events of the weekend consist of the Day Bases, which take place from 8am till 5pm and consist of mind challenging team tasks, Night Bases, which take place from 8pm till 11pm and are similar to the Day Bases, the timed Assault course (which the scouts always end up returning covered head to toe in mud!) and a timed Orienteering course.
Each year for a bit of fun and to distinguish them from the many other scouts present at the weekend, Hemel Hempstead Scouts give out a bit of bright clothing. This year it was a neon blue beanie hat following on from our pink and green hats and multi coloured buff from previous years!
Although an extremely tiring weekend, it is an enjoyable one and a camp that is popular amongst the Scouts. The ceremony takes place on the Sunday morning where the winners are announced.
We are proud to announce that as well as being in the top 30 for the assault course and the orienteering times, we also won the Visitors Trophy! An award we have won previously and are happy to return back to our display board in the Cabin at the Mansergh.
Finally we would like to say a huge thank you to our Scouts who were fantastic and to all the leaders who spent the weekend working to ensure the camp food and maintenance was run smoothly.
Well done guys, you applied yourselves to get a good result. Who's up for next year then?
Woggles Up!