Fall Camporee

[Eagle Foot]

Looking for some new ideas for the fall camporee, that will celabrate Veterans Day and combine Webelos Transition to Boy Scouts....I've headed up some 15 to 20 ....I supose I'm just out....again it's the same partners in crime putting these together.

What's out there?

 

Eagle Foot

[Scoutfish]

Maybe a revolutionary war stled version of capture the flag.

 

Cool game involving physical activity and execise, but also alot of planning, thinking, and reasoning.

 

Let the revolutionary war set the pace from America's begining by exploring people who fought for country and freedom to the modern day Vet and active soldier.

 

[SSScout]

We had a really fine camporee a two years back, organized by a consortium of local Troops, at a big Methodist retreat center. The theme was the Civil War. Patrol (not Troop) competition , Max of 8 boys per... Each activity station was predicated on what a CW era person or soldier might need to do. Signaling! semiphore and Morse code. Fire building(no matches or lighters) and cooking. Cook a potatoe and eat it! Close order drill! Baseball (Abner Doubleday?) of the period. Find your way with a small scale map and MANY choices of starting and destination, over the whole of the property (no GPS!). Period first aid (litter carry races, make believe limb removal and then one legged races and one armed activities). Each station required a Patrol cheer or yell. CW reenactors were in attendance. Black powder musket fire. It was a BIG affair.

My only quibble was the souvenir patch. If you looked close, it had a fifty star flag on it!

[chaoman45]

Maybe have some old vets conduct a flag-retirement ceremony.

[wjturner]

SSScout, I like it, but I have to ask. If it was period first aid and baseball, did they do period (American) Morse code instead of the modern ITU Morse code that did not exist then? :-)

[SSScout]

Dunno. I didn't stop to ask!

[ntrog8r]

If you're looking for a veteran's day tie-in, you can contact the local American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and AmVets. They may have a variety of resources - flag retirements, post/lodge bands, provide judges for events, have some great stories of their days in service, old military equipment to display or demonstrate, honoray camp Scoutmaster.

 

You could have a giant card to be delivered to nearest VA hospital for the Scouts to sign and then deliver after Camporee, multiple cards for Scouts to sign to send to Soldiers overseas (orgs above may even pay for postage), you could collect items for a care package to a hometown Soldier deployed (if there is one) or at basic training, etc.

 

Each station could be themed after a different American conflict - Scouts arrive and are met with props, costumed station judge, or contest with the theme. French and Indian War = Navigation, RevWar = Fire by flint and steel, Civil War = Signaling, Desert Storm = GPS, etc.

 

Maybe have night where each troop/Patrol "hosts" a vet for dinner at their campsite. Lots of wide games have themes that can fit.

 

If you're close to a military base (Active/NG) they may even be able to set up a static equipment display for a day.