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Activities that work


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We try to do Backpacking once a quarter, with Venture age kids, its tough to set a good date. We have to schedule and go with who can make it. Indoor climbing is the most frequent activity and out door climbing (once) the most talked about. Trouble is, out door climbing is time consuming and expensive and there isnt a lot to do when every one waits to take a turn.

 

We have had lick with Crews in our council taking turns sponsoring activities, such as the Cardboard Boat race, or a Rendezvous planned by Council.

 

As far as what will bring kids to the crew, what does your crew say? What do they want to do ?

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Activities that work.... for our new co-ed unit its whatever they plan!

 

They wanted to start before 12/31/02 so we did the paperwork & went Christmas Caroling the Sat. night between Christmas & New YEars. Two weeks later we were cabin camping & touring Valley Forge. Another two weeks & they were out in the snow assisting at the District Klondike. The crew camps meets twice a month, camps every other month on its own, and plans something different for the non-camping mnths. Shooting has been popular. Most of our older boys have climbing on their lists, the girls like the idea of canoeing /kayaking. But nothing surprises me. They're looking forward to district / council events.

 

Time to survey the youth.

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Our crew does some backpacking. Next summer we are going to Isle Ryale. We also got a grant called Team St. Louis in which we are going to be cleaning, and repainting the old library which is a historical land mark in our town. We are going to have a barbeque soon, pick up trash at parish picnic, etc.

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We're brand new. We're small. Backpacking, shooting, climbing, skiing, scuba were all mentioned activities. We have to crawl first, but the new Pres with very limited Scouting background is active in planning our first trek. My thought is that after completing a 15-20 mile 2 day backpacking trip, the crew would endure, blisters, sore feet, sore legs, sore back, a lot of sweat, a lot of wishing they were elsewhere etc. I'm thinking this "Comaraderie of Pain" will create some team spirit and help us recruit just by doing this.

 

 

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Regarding Shooting Sports, have any of the successful, high-speed, low-drag Venturing Crews out there done any of the Shooting Venues like the American Legion Jr. Tourney, The NRA's 3 Position Postals, The National Guard Bureau Tourney? What's your experience with these events and do you know of others similiar that are out there.

 

Our Crew wants to be a Rifle Team. We've got a long way to go.

 

Pounder

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OGE, Bob, and Mr. Hopper,

 

Do you have co-ed Crews? Do the female Venturers go backpacking? I'm thinking here that the Hiking Merit Badge and the Backpacking elective require 15 mile totals to count as an event toward completion. A backpack, sleeping bag, change of clothes, and water are going to weigh in around 30-35 pounds, then add in a share of the food and equipment and soon your going to have the equivalent of a full combat load, how do the young ladies cope? Secondly, do you gentlemen have a female associate advisor who pounds the trail with you? Curious.

 

Pounder

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Yes indeed the crew I work with is Co-ed.

 

Yes, certainly we ALWAYS have a female adult along with us on backpacking trip. We dont have a female advisor but all overnight trips, backpacking or otherwise dont happen unless we have an over 21 female with us.

 

It could be worth charging admission to have you ask our ladies if they can manage backpacking, especially the one who was the Scoutcraft Director at our Summercamp or the one who is very involved in OA (Outdoors Action, dont have a stroke arrowmen). Dont question the heart, will and strenth of the female. That would be a grave error.

(this last one said in jest, I made the mistake of making a condescending remark about the ladies bringing "Powerpuff Girls" sleeping bags on an outing. The scars have just about faded)(This message has been edited by OldGreyEagle)

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Our boys are really backpacking oriented. They did the backpacking merit badge and really got a lot of experience there. They do anywhere from 8 to 20 miles on a weekend trek, anything less they scoff at. It's one of their goals to kill off the advisors I think. Anyhow they really like to challenge themselves and each other, something we started seeing at around age 14. We've kept track of their miles and some are well over 200. We live in an area with miles of forest trails so that helps. Because of their proficiency here they are asked to teach backpacking skills a lot. Whitewater rafting is well liked too. They are looking into shooting as an elective towards bronze.

 

What we have noticed with them, as they get older is that they are better able to focus on planning, and if you encourage that and make sure they have the tools needed to be able to do that, they're more likely to open up and say what they want to do. I quit trying to guess what they may like and rely on what they are willing to work hard to get.

 

 

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Good Morning!

 

Great questions Trailpounder. Our boys are all 16 or older, those who were/are Boy Scouts are at least first class. 2 of the girls are high school sophmores this fall, 14 yrs. old; other three are Seniors or College aged

 

Do you have co-ed Crews? Yes, 5 of the 17 members are of the female persuasion. The crew took off when 4 of our older scouts realized that their future in Scoutingn was "limited" to adult leadership - they wanted to continue planning & leading from the youth side.

 

Do the female Venturers go backpacking? Three of the girls have hiked w/ us; we haven't backpacked to/from camps (yet.) All of the guys in the crew are at least first class although that doesn't require or preclude either of MB's that you mentioned. (Hikes, yes; MB's, no.) I'm not sure where the crew is on this, I expect we will address it this fall. (Our Troop only backpacks about twice a year & some of the Boy Scouts from the crew have joined us for that.)

 

 

...combat load, how do the young ladies cope?

See above, so far they haven't planned an overnighter where we packed in/out.

 

Secondly, do you gentlemen have a female associate advisor who pounds the trail with you?

When hiking, yes. Three women advisors have signed up. One has a nephew in the crew and attended Blue Rocks (Hamburg, PA?) even though he was unable to do so. (This was car camping with a daylong hike on Saturday.)

 

Our crew will eveolve, no doubt about it. At this point I'd say that the focus is a blend of Youth Ministry and Outdoors. Some of our members are pushing to pursue the Ranger requirements, especially the younger girls. I can see the Scouts insisting that it stay true to the aims of Scouting while opening the door to outdoor activities and service by the girls who join.

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Thanks for the great responses. We aren't co-ed yet. I know how my dogs were screaming after humping that full loaded 5800 cubic inch monster 8 miles in 85 degree heat last month. We went 8 miles in just under 3.5 hours. I was soaking wet and had to tape/moleskin one blister. Do the ladies carry equal weight and are you backpacking at least the distances to count toward the MB or Ranger Elective? Just wanted to know the experiences you've with the sport of backpacking and the co-ed crews. The sounds of a solid backpacking program have me motivated through the ceiling. Camping is great, but the challenge of backpacking add to the experience exponentially. Throw some trout fishing in there and you've got a world class event.

 

Pounder

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Hi Venture Mom,

 

We're going on Sept 26 for a weekender. 2 from the Crew and 2 from our troop and 3 adults. I'm hoping that the boys will have a challenging tiring backpacking experience that will make them talk to their friends about the challenge and we'll end up growing our program by the shared experiences.

 

Pounder

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