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Potomac District 2019 Klondike Derby

January 31, 2019 by Robert Snip

In 1897 a gold discovery near Klondike, a region of the Yukon territory in northwest Canada, triggered the Klondike Gold Rush, which lasted from 1897 until 1899. Around 100,000 people decided to travel there, but only about 30,000 have been reported to have made it there.

In 1949 Boy Scout Troops from the Northern United States and from Canada started their reenactment of the Klondike Gold Rush to test their winter Scout skills and called it the Klondike Derby. It has since been adapted by Troops all over the United States, especially those with snow in their winters.

On Saturday, January 26, Units from the NCAC Potomac District met at Little Bennett Campgrounds in Germantown Maryland, to compete in the annual Potomac Klondike Derby. Despite most of the snow from the previous week washed away by Thursday’s rain, the freezing temperatures ensured the genuine Klondike winter feel, and most of the Scouts earned their Potomac District Polar Bear Patch for overnight camping below freezing point.

During the day on Saturday, temperatures reached well into the upper 30’s, and the Order of the Arrow made sure Scouts and Scouters could warm up at their Hot Chocolate Stations and campfires on each of the 2 playing fields. The Scout Spirit was very high among the 68 Klondike Crews who competed.

Troop 3’s “Bear” Patrol was able to complete the Sled Relay Race the fastest and took first prize. Overall standings of this year’s Potomac District Klondike Derby saw the all-female Patrol the “Cryptids” of Crew 461 walked away with top honors and this year’s Klondike flag. The “Duelmusters” Patrol of Troop 1450 came in second, and the “Penguins” Patrol of Troop 249 came in 3rd.

The closing ceremony began with honoring Scout Master Bruce Crock of Troop 440 who has “Gone Home” on January 15th of this year.

The evening ended with the Calling Out ceremony of an impressive number of 38 newly elected Order of the Arrow candidates.

Filed Under: Adventure, Scouting Programs Tagged With: Klondike Derby, Potomac

AKELA Chess Classic Expands to Include Entire Council

January 29, 2019 by The Scouter Digest Staff

Powhatan District has hosted a Chess Classic for a decade under the direction of Roger Claff and Peter Snow. This year, they are expanding the Chess Classic to be Council-wide. This is a tournament with 5 rounds. Scouts need to register for their age appropriate bracket. Please see the links below for tournament rules and additional details.

The Scouts BSA Tournament will be held on February 2nd at Trinity Presbytarian Church in Herndon, VA. The Cub Scout Tournament will be held on February 9th at St. Raphael School in Rockville, MD.

Those interested in participating in the Cubs Tournament can register at https://scoutingevent.com/082-akelaChess_CUBS. For those who wish to participate in the Scouts BSA Tournament, please visit https://scoutingevent.com/082-akelaChess_SCOUTS for registration and more information.

Filed Under: Scouting Programs Tagged With: STEM Scouts

Pack 2019 Lions Say “I’ll Do It Myself”

January 24, 2019 by Priscilla Martínez

The girls’ and boys’ Lions Dens from Pack 2019 at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society in Sterling, VA, completed their “I’ll Do It Myself” adventure. They made and decorated bags to keep their Scout swag organized and on hand. Each Scout chose how they wanted to decorate and with their parent partners’ help used glue guns, foam letters, glitter glue, and a slew of other craft supplies to make their bags shine.

These two dens have already earned their Lion’s Honor, Animal Kingdom, and King of the Jungle adventure loops and are well on their way to earning their full Lion ranks! Pack 2019 has girls’ dens for Lions, Wolves, and Bears, and are welcoming more Scouts every day.

 

Filed Under: Scouting Programs Tagged With: Cub Scouts, Goose Creek, Lions, Program

Lab 1576 Holds Electronics Showcase

January 17, 2019 by The Scouter Digest Staff

Lab 1576, the first STEM Scouts unit in NCAC, held an electronics showcase this past Saturday.

The ADAMS Center sponsored the first Junior STEM Scouts Lab in NCAC, Lab 1576. Over the past few months, these STEM Scouts learned about electronics and innovated “Community Buzzers”, “Burglar Alarms”, and “Electronic Basketball” using littleBits electronics. Their next module is Squishy, Gooey Chemistry. Stay tuned for more fun projects!

STEM Scouts is a national pilot program focused on fun ways for girls and boys to learn more about science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The National Capital Area Council adopted the program this past fall, thus making STEM Scouts open to boys and girls in three divisions: grades 3-5, grades 6-8, and grades 9-12.

In the STEM Scouts program, educational content, developed and vetted by STEM educators, is designed to be immersive and to inspire teamwork, problem solving and independent thinking. Through hands-on activities delivered directly to the unit, this 26-week program is ultimately designed to be challenging, thought-provoking and, especially, fun.

For more information on STEM Scouting, please visit www.stemscouts.org.

Filed Under: Scouting Programs Tagged With: ADAMS Center, STEM, STEM Scouts

26th Camporee Centroamericano

January 17, 2019 by Phillip Fantozzi

Phillip Fantozzi and his son Jack, a 2nd Class Scout, recently attended the 26th Camporee Centroamericano in Honduras. What follows are their thoughts and recollections on the experience. Thank you to Phillip and Jack for sharing.

Phillip Fantozzi
My son Jack and I attended the 26th Camporee Centroamericano, which was held 26-31 December 2019 near the town of Valle de Angeles, which is about 30 minutes outside Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras. We were the only 2 BSA Scouts out of about 1,000 scouts from Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Panama.

We had a great time at the event. Jack slept in a troop tent with members of Troop 23 from Tegucigalpa who were very friendly and welcoming. The event was split into 4 “trails,” focusing on service, sports, cultural activities, and scoutcraft. We ate our meals at the mess hall and were transported to different events in Honduran Army trucks.

Jack Fantozzi
One of my most interesting experiences as a scout is the Central American Scout Camporee 2018. There were hundreds of scouts there from all over the region, from Mexico to Panama. I went with Troop 23 (“Panteras” or “Panthers”) from Honduras. I live in Honduras near their meeting place in a park, and I was already a 2nd Class scout so I went to learn about scouting in other countries.

It was interesting being the only American scout at the Camporee. I traded BSA patches the first night, and the rest of the time I was there I constantly had scouts asking to trade. There were long conversations about scouting, selfies, and even videos of us talking to people about BSA. It was an interesting experience, and I think everyone should try to go to an international scouting event once in their lifetime. It is a growing, learning, and changing experience.

All photos courtesy of Phillip Fantozzi.

Filed Under: Leaders, Scouting Programs Tagged With: Honduras, Scouter Perspectives, Scouts BSA

Troop 98 Scout’s Eagle Service Project Featured by Several Local News Outlets

January 17, 2019 by Bryan Martin Firvida

Boy Scout Patrick Donnelly’s Eagle Scout community service project has attracted the attention of his neighborhood through local support and news coverage.

Patrick’s Eagle Scout project will bring 10 new Little Free Libraries across the neighborhoods of Ward 4 of Washington, D.C. bringing more books to the neighborhood beyond the one public library.

Patrick is a Life Scout in Troop 98, the Troop is chartered by at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in the Brookland neighborhood of Washington, D.C.

Two weekends of work in January by scouts, scouters, and neighbors made quick work of the cutting, building, painting, and finishing of the buildings. Installation of the libraries will take place in the coming weeks and months.

The motivation for Patrick’s project was to help improve literacy in his community by making more books available and easy to access. His project has also received support from the community, through a GoFundMe campaign, a $500 grant from Advisory Neighborhood Commission 4B, Annie’s Ace Hardware in Brookland, Galliher and Huguely in Takoma, and WT Construction in Manor Park.

Patrick’s work has also captured other local news coverage. The DC Line a local news organization profiled Patrick’s project in the story “Boy Scout prepares to seed Ward 4 neighborhoods with free book exchanges.” The DC Line story was highlighted in the Washington City Paper‘s “District Line Daily” .

Patrick was also interviewed about his project during the evening Fox 5 TV newscast on January 10, 2019.

Filed Under: Scouting Programs Tagged With: Eagle Scout, Little Library, Scouts BSA, Washington DC

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