scoutmaster

[troop200]

i have been asked to run our districts klondike derby this comming fall and would like some ideas for events. i would like some new ways to present the events. our district does the klondike for boys up to first class or 14yrs.

thanks in advance for your help

tony

[WoodBadgeEagle]

Tony-

 

I helped organize the 2002 Klondike for our district, and it was a big success (not much snow, but cold enough!).

 

I am the Jr. Leader Roundtable Commissioner, and we got the boys together in early November (at Roundtable) and asked them what they liked best in a Klondike Derby. We set some guidelines (fun, Scout skills, age-appropriate, etc.), and then did a brainstorming session. We laid out the rules for such a session (everyone's ideas are welcome, no criticizing,etc.). They started out slow, then came up with some great ideas, then drifted into strange ideas. With every idea, we did not say "good idea", or "okay", just "thank you".

 

Once we a list of about 30 ideas (our Klondikes tend to draw around 30 Patrols), and the boys were all out of ideas, the adults asked "what about..." with events that they had seen in previous years. It was surprising how often the boys were unanimous in their dislike of past (adult-idea) events! Sometimes, it was only part of an event that they didn't like, and offering a modification made it attractive again.

 

The next month, I had typed up all the ideas and we (a slightly different group of Scouts) sat down again to finalize the ideas, to "flesh them out". One was "golfing in the snow". I asked wouldn't it be hard to FIND the white balls in the snow, and they said that's the FUN part. It became the whole event- a searching game. Funny how much it resembled policing an area, something they don't usually like to do...

 

After the 2nd meeting, a group of 4-5 adults met at a restaurant and fine-tuned the events to make sure most contained Scout skills all were teamwork events (most didn't require much modification), then we divvied them up for materials. I made all the score sheets and punch cards. Others did sign-in and registration. Somebody did the cocoa.

 

We always get adults and older Scouts who want to run events before opening (we include this request in the flyers), so event staffing isn't a problem.

 

Hope this helped!

 

WBE

[nldscout]

Can you share the 30 Event Idea's with us?