Camporees etc

[wagionvigil]

Over many years I have seen camporees that have basicially just been Drive in, Drive to your camping area, set up your kitchen and site with everything from your "Troop Trailer".
How many of you have experienced this horrible site?
Now how many of you have had " carry everything in" Camporees. No trailers no carports no portable kitchens etc.? A true Scouting Camporee. Park the vehicle load up the stuff on each scout and hike it in.
Which do you prefer? and Why?
Are we being disloyal to the scouting principals when we have a camporee like the first I discribed?
Just Wondering????

[Scouting179]

I think they both have their place. But you are right, all too often the easy path is taken.

[Eamonn]

When I read the Vision Statement of the BSA, I see fun and adventure. To this end we have had "Backwoods Camps" where the Scouts use only very basic tools and cooking equipment, we do use foil as finding quality mud can be hard.
But we have taken Scouts on trips where fast food has been the order of the day.
I don't think of this as being disloyal. I do think that the more skills our Scouts have, the more choices they can make and hopefully the more choices they have the better the program. The better the program the more fun and adventure they get out of their Scouting. So we can rest easy knowing that we are bringing the vision to life.
If we fail to bring it to life, it will only be a dream.

[Rhett]

I was a Boy Scout from 1978 to 1984,when I got my Eagle Scout award.We use to have camporees in our council in both the Fall and Spring of each year. Are there any councils out there that have those type of camporees or have they just become a fond memory?

[wagionvigil]

Westmoreland-Fayette have District Camporees Fall Winter and Spring and then every 4 or 5 years or so have a Council Wide Spring Camporee

[Chief J]

Steel City District in the Greater Pittsburgh Council has a District Level Fall and Spring Camporee as well as Klondike Derby each year. I haven't seen GPC host a Council level Camporee.

Chief J

[Rhett]

Thanks Wagionvigil! Thanks Chief J! Glad to see that some councils and districts still have Fall and Spring Camporees! Now I'll see what I can do to get our district and council moving on this!!!

[Mrw]

Our district in Greater Cleveland Council has a Klondike, Spring Camporee and in the fall a First Aid meet.

We usually make a point of getting to all of them. Our boys enjoy the competition regardless of how they finish up in the rankings.

[PaulSWolf]

Our district in Greater Cleveland Council has a Klondike, Spring Camporee and in the fall a First Aid meet.

We usually make a point of getting to all of them. Our boys enjoy the competition regardless of how they finish up in the rankings.

Sounds like Crooked Creek (nee Winding Rivers)

[Mrw]

Actually we are now in the Cuyahoga Valley district, formerly in Winding Rivers.

[diamondbackAPL]

our district has a fall, spring, and winter camporee. they are like the the first one wagion described, (except for the winter backpacking themed one), but I would like to do the second kind

[evmori]

Conestoga District in GPC has a Spring & Fall camporee as well as a Winter fun day!

[ICanCanoeCanU]

Our council in upstate NY has both a fall camporee and a winter one. But unfortunately like Wagion described, they seem more like his first description. I too agree that it’s important to offer various types of conditions on campouts. However, I don’t think a council camporee is the right event to being pulling out the kitchen sink. I would much prefer to see troops show off the experience in preparing without the finer extras. Our troop does own a carport but it’s usually used for trips where the activities justify saving some hassles. Examples, extended trips to large cities where the boys will be out touring for long hours and won’t be able to get back to camp to cover in case of rain or planned events all day. On these trips it’s been nice to come back and have at least one area dry and protected, large enough to cover all gear and to cook at.

[alex gregory]

Camporee is in 2 weeks and I thought it would be interesting to revive this topic.

Why is Camporee so gosh darn awful? OK, awful is a little harsh, how about a DULL WASTED WEEKEND.

Is it the OA guys who are just too lazy to come up with an interesting program? Is it the unit leaders who just love the same old car camping every year? Is it the need to conform with some BSA model for great camping (if it is, that's a real shame because Camporee has as much to do with camping as sleeping in my backyard). I doubt it's the Scouts, because all the Scouts I talk to keep complaining about the sameness of Camporee every year.

[lifescoutforlife]

We just finished up our Council spring camporee this weekend, it was the first one in quite a few years that just our council did. We usally have tri council camporees.

[FrankJ]

Why is Camporee so gosh darn awful? OK, awful is a little harsh, how about a DULL WASTED WEEKEND.

1) If the DE is planning the camporee, then your district is in bad need of more volunteers. (This is in no way a criticism of the professional staff, just my idea of how scouting should be run.)

2) If you do not like how camporee is run: Get you troop members involved in the OA. Start going to round table. Start going to district commitee meetings. Recruit other volunteers to do the same. If the old guard does not want positive help from new volunteers, move to a better district. If the same people are putting on camporee every year, it is going to get stale.

As some one on another list is fond of saying "All scouting is local"

[wagionvigil]

Our district camporees are troop run. A troop takes on the responsibility. They plan it totally.

[alex gregory]

Our district camporees are troop run. A troop takes on the responsibility. They plan it totally.

Our district camporee is (and has been for a long time) OA planned, and they apparently really seem to enjoy planning the same old same old same old same old . . .

[wagionvigil]

You have Chapters apparently. WHich are not necessary in most lodges and only cause conflict.

[gwd-scouter]

We have a spring and fall camporee, and like others our Council puts on a Council-wide Exporee every four years.

For several years the district camporees were pretty awful and attendance was dropping to the point that our DE started inviting other Districts to attend. The lowest point came when the Saturday night campfire programs with skits and songs, maybe OA dance pageant, went away and were replaced with passive entertainment - jazz band or rock band, long story telling by an adult, or one year the ugliest hillbilly contest. Yuck!

The reason I was given by the organizers was that the boys really didn't like skits and songs. Hogwash I thought. Maybe the guys in their troop didn't like to do skits and songs, but I know in ours and in others it is something the guys have a lot of fun with when we go on our own campouts.

Enough complaints were raised that a new planning team was put together and things started to improve. Now, our fall camporee is a back to basics type event with patrol competitions, gateway competitions, best dessert, etc. The spring camporees tend to be more theme based - last year's was on shooting sports.

OA Chapter is more involved now. At the fall camporee they put together the campfire program and it was fantastic. Couple of guys in regalia paddled up in a canoe with lit torches and then lit the campfire. MC was also in regalia. A bit of drums and dance pageant. Troops/patrols put on their skits. Sunday morning, the OA guys planned and cooked a pancake breakfast for everyone.

Best of all, our very small troop of guys won first place ribbon for their gateway, a couple of third place ribbons in the patrol competitions (immediately afterward realized the ought to brush up for this fall's competitions), and had fun!