We Own Adventure

Scouting News for the DC Metro Area

The Scouter Digest Staff

NCAC Troops Take Multiple Honors at the 45th Annual Scout Orienteering Day

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Arlington Troop 111 from Chain Bridge District won the troop championship at the 45th Annual Maryland Scout Orienteering Day on Oct. 23, 2021 at Patuxent River Park near Upper Marlboro, They hung on to first overall even though edged out in the afternoon Score Orienteering by 2nd place Kensington T. 439 from Potomac District.

Joey H. of La Plata T. 1321 in the Western Shores District won the super-tough advanced course in 92 minutes. The fourth perfect score in the 45 years of the event was recorded by older category winners Zack S. & Alex G. of Arlington, leading T. 647 to a best-ever third place out of 45 units.

Hans R. & Max W. of 6th place McLean T.652 were a very close second in that 98-team older category, just ahead of 111’s Matthew Sullivan & Alan McCartney, 111’s Michael Corso & Sam Cruley, Edward Gun & Chad Bo from Patuxent District T. 1033 in Beltsville, and Jimmy Mazel & Liam Merrigan from Arlington T. 164.

Troop 439’s 2nd place, tying their best ever (2011), was a real team effort led by Spenser M., Daniel E., Lance M., Orion C., and the top NCAC Scouts in the 88-team younger category, James T. & Adam A. Troop 191 from King George, Mattaponi District, had three pairs of Scouts in the top 16.

It was NCAC’s most successful year ever at this event, with 14 of the top 21 awards, sweeping all of the top 12 troops except for the 4th and 7th place Baltimore units, a Jersey Shore troop in 5th, and a 9th place Girl Scout camp staff. Troop 111’s team effort tied a 45-year record with its 6th troop title; they hold the record with 11 Top Two finishes, all since 2003 with Dr. Bob Klein and some very adept SPL’s coordinating. One Scout this year was the 20,000th attendee over the 45 years of the event.

Self-guided instruction was followed by a part-instructional, part-competitive course, and then the fun “free-for-all” Score Orienteering with over 400 youth and over 100 adults looking for 45 markers scattered over five square miles. Similar to recent years, the top 10 places in the younger category were captured by 9 different troops, and the top 9 in the older competition were spread out among 7 troops. Each scout and participating adult received two special color maps, and everyone got answer keys, instructional tips, and patches. Over 100 awards were presented.

Three Cubs Form Their Own Troop

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This is a success story. Troop 1207 attended Camp Bowman at Goshen this past summer with three scouts and two adults. This may sound like a pathetic turnout, but was actually an amazing turnout for our brand-new troop.

This story starts with a group of three Cubs in an AOL Den, about to graduate from the same Pack, with a dream of recruiting a few friends from other packs and starting their own Scouts BSA Troop. The plan was to file paperwork immediately after the Blue and Gold, and get their charter in time to go to Goshen that summer.

The Blue & Gold was scheduled for March 15th, 2020. Very bad timing. The national COVID-19 shutdown was declared March 13th. The B&G was canceled. The world went into lockdown. Their dreams seemed as empty as the city streets in the early days of the pandemic.

The Blue & Gold was eventually rescheduled for late May, as a Drive-Up graduation broadcast on Zoom. It gave closure, but the enjoyment was short lived. Goshen canceled summer camp. People were afraid to leave their homes. Going for a hike became impossible if the parking lot was even a little bit crowded.

By Fall, vaccines were on the horizon, and people began to poke their noses outside. The three friends hatched a plan: With or without a Troop, they would start meeting, and doing scout stuff.

For the next 10 months, they met every week after school in a local park, and worked their way through the list of requirements of the Scout and Tenderfoot ranks. Rain or shine, cold or heat, they took the requirements one at a time and checked them off. Best of all (from the would-be scoutmaster’s perspective), they did all this knowing that it didn’t count since they weren’t an official troop, and they would have to do it all over again, if they ever did manage to get a troop.

They recruited their friends. They asked their parents to file the paperwork. They kept meeting. The charter was approved June 21st, 2021.

The following week, three scouts from Troop 1207, Vienna, VA, the newest troop in the council, spent the week at Camp Bowman at Goshen. They earned 10 merit badges between them, did all the cooking and cleaning, and summited Viewing Rock.

All of them are signed up to go back in 2022. I call that a scouting success story!

Michael’s Woodshop Ventures Into New Territory

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On October 1, Christina A. of Crew 893 hosted the first Summit Award Project in Michael’s Woodshop, making a set of knot boards for a local Girl Scout Troop. With plenty of bench space, there was ample room to create work stations for drilling, laminating description cards, cutting & binding cords and assembling the knot boards. With good planning and organization and support from fellow crew members, family and friends, Christina was able to successfully complete the knot boards over the course of a busy evening in the shop. Congratulations and job well done!

Michael’s Woodshop may be reserved for use by NCAC youth or Units and it is an exceptional venue for hosting Summit Award Projects, Eagle Scout Projects and other large or complex group projects. The shop is well-outfitted with the tools and work space to create just about any woodworking project. The shop is operated by a team of experienced volunteers who can answer question and provide assistance as you plan your work. A volunteer will also be on hand to provide instruction and supervision throughout your activity.

 

Michael’s Woodshop operates year-round and is a great place for Scouts to create and learn. In addition to working on large projects, the shop may also be reserved for many other Unit activities such as our Baloo the Builder and Webelos Build It workshops and our upcoming Pinewood Derby Days sessions. Please visit the Michael’s Woodshop webpage for more information about the shop capabilities, upcoming events or reserving the shop. If you have questions or would like additional information, please email the volunteer team at MichaelsWoodshop.CWBS@gmail.com

Save the Date for Supplemental Cub Scout Training

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Come join us for three sessions on November 20, 2021, via Zoom. We will offer over ten supplemental courses, which will aid all Cub Scout Adult Leaders and Partners, in putting on an effective and powerful program!

Registration coming soon!

We hope to see you and your fellow Cub Leaders and Partners at the training!

 

Family Camping is Back at Camp Snyder!

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The ever-popular family camping with activities is available again this fall at Camp Snyder.  You can choose from two weekends, October 22-24 or November 19-21.  Cubs, Scouts BSA and younger and older youth can participate on either weekend.  Sign-up quickly, because these weekends with program activities are limited to 150 participants.

Your Cub or Scout can be as adventurous as they want! They can work on handicrafts and leatherwork, be the BB gun champion, complete a project in the woodshop, shoot archery like Robin Hood, learn through STEM FUN and robotics, as well as climb the daunting Scouterhorn. And the whole family can take a nature walk guided by a Master Conservator or take a COFFEE break and be a SLACKER at the climbing area. And, on your own, your family can fish (bring your pole) or bike (bring your bike and helmet), hike, try the Geocaching course, and cook smores at your campfire. All program activities will be scheduled on an appointment basis to avoid long waits and provide COVID-19 virus precautions. The number of openings for each time slot is limited, so sign up soon to get the best choice of activities.

Families can register and sign up for program activities at  https://www.gotosnyder.org/year-round-events/cub-scout-expo/ .

See you there!