World Jamboree Info. on line

[Eamonn]

National has posted information about the World Jamboree to be held in London in 2007:
http://www.scouting.org/jamboree/world/index.html

[Eamonn]

Looking at the info I see:
It looks very much like both male and female Venturers as well as Boy Scouts can apply.
The age is 14 -18.
The cost is $3,975 plus the cost of getting to the Gateway city which each Region will select.
It looks like there will be 80 Troops or Crews from the USA.

[Billiken]

$3975.................WOW!!

Only 3 nights of off-jamboree touring.
(I expected 10+ days of London, Scotland and Ireland.)

Pay your own way to the gateway city.

US contingent NOT participating in the Home Hospitality (Ho Ho) program. (I still stay in touch with the Swedish family I stayed with after Nordjamb in 1975.)

I travel A LOT for business. The tour operator is making a killing on the charter flights or is afraid oil will be $80/barrell by then (which is entirely possible).

Frankly, if someone would have asked me to guess, I would have said $2500. Doesn't matter though....my son misses the age cut by 6 months and then gets to wait unit 2010 for the next Nat'l Jamboree. c'est la vie.

[wagionvigil]

The World Jamboree is a "Scout Jamboree"not a Boy Scout Jamboree. I believe

[Eamonn]

Yes it is a Scout Jamboree.
At the 20th World Jamboree in Thailand the females made up for 51% of the youth participants.

[Billiken]

Here's the link to the Jamboree Website:

www.wsj.scouting2007.org/english/index.php

[Eamonn]

There was up until now a lot of speculation about what the price of the Jamboree would be.
Some people thought that as I serve as the World Jamboree Chair. For our area (NE-Area 4) That I had some knowledge that I wasn't sharing!!
This wasn't the case I didn't know anything!! Kinna like the German Officer on Hogan's Hero's Sgt. Hans Georg Schultz, I knew nothing!!
I hated to try and guess what the cost would be, but when pressed I said that I thought it would be in the $3,500 to the $5,000 range. Hey!! Not bad for a guy who knew nothing
I haven't tried to work out how much it might cost if I were to try and arrange the trip by myself. I feel sure that I could arrange for a Troop or Crew to go to the UK for a lot less money. I could shop around for great plane fares change the dates, change the take off time. Talk nice to friends over that side of the pond and arrange to use their equipment.
I however could not duplicate the thrill of attending a World Jamboree.
I'm sure that the high cost of fuel and the weak US Dollar has a lot to do with the price. I have no idea what the health insurance costs?
I have no idea what the cost of the Jamboree is. That is what the UK Scout Association is charging? One big complaint I'm hearing from my pals who are leaders in the UK about Eurojam, is that it was just too expensive.
While I don't have a vast amount of knowledge about the BSA and world Jamborees, in 1975 I was with the Greater London Central Contingent, and we camped next to a BSA Troop, they had all brand new equipment that was still in the boxes. We used my home troops equipment that we paid to ship over and ship back. Talking to the Lad who attended the 20th Jamboree in Thailand, he said that they had all new equipment and at the end of the Jamboree they donated it to a local Troop. He went on to say he had so much stuff that he gave his sleeping bag away!!
I'm a little disappointed that our Scouts will not be participating in the home hospitality program. This was a high point for me in 1975, I spent time with a family in Sweden.
Again I hear from the UK that they have had a problem getting families to sign up, because they are insisting that they take the UK Youth Protection course.
I know that as a rule up till now the Council in which I serve does not offer financial aid to Jamboree Participants, I'm unsure if any funds are out there, but I will be looking into it. I would hope that the chartering organizations might want to try and help if they have the funds, but this might be wishful thinking?