Warwickshire Scouts Issue 88 - November 2010www.warwickshirescouts.org.uk

GSL Support Days | BearTrek 2010 | County Vacancy | Get In...County Camp 2011

Motiva10nsuccess!

The second bi-annual Motiva10n camp at LimeBridge in September saw over 300 WarwickshireExplorer Scouts join together for a fantasticweekend of adventure. The turn-out, which wasdouble the number attending the first Motiva8 in2008, was fantastic and the buzz over the wholeweekend was excellent.

Well where does onebegin?

I want to say am a s s i v eTHANK YOUto you all for making mefeel so welcome into theCounty Commissioner

role, wherever I have gone you have greeted me withsmiles and conversation, and often a lot of goodhumour.

A good example of this is the welcome 1st(Attleborough) Nuneaton Cubs gave me inSeptember; when Steve and his team invited mealong for a night of mini-pioneering and crafts. It wasgreat to see such a positive example of Scouting inaction, and I look forward to spending more timewith groups over the coming months!

It would also be impossible to let WISPA go bywithout a mention of Motiva10n for Explorers. Theevent was a great success and I can't help but praiseWendy and Jo-ann for their hard work in pulling ittogether. To see so many young people enjoyingsuch a wide variety of activities was a real pleasure -see you all at Get-In!

It's impossible to say it all here; if you get chance,check out my blog on warwickshirescouts.org.ukwhere you can follow me in my everydayadventures! (Just click on 'county information' andthen 'county commissioner'). It's not Shakespeare,but I try to keep it entertaining!

Looking to the future you'll spot in this edition anadvert for a role in the county team, specificallyworking with our ACCs. I would encourage you all tohave a look at this, and if interested please do get intouch - it could be the start of your next bigadventure!

Thank you for all the good that you are doing, itreally does count.

Andy

Chairman'sCornerFirstly I should like to thank all ofyou who took the time to attendthis year's AGM. It wasparticularly memorable as we

witnessed the change over from DaveBramston to Andy Shorter as CountyCommissioner. The high regard inwhich Dave is held was demonstratedby the numbers that came along.

Obviously the main business of theevening is necessary to the running ofthe County and is by its nature a very“dry” affair. However the presentationconcerning the handover betweenDave and Andy lightened theformalities and, at the same time,provided the vehicle for Dave to say hisgoodbyes and for Andy to introducehimself formally and to give his vision ofwhat the future holds for Scouting inWarwickshire.

All who attended would haveexperienced a very positive atmosphereand, I would hope, have been reassuredthat the County is in good hands withAndy at the helm. Those of you whocould not make the meeting will find theAnnual Report gives an excellent insightof what we achieved over the last yearand what we aim to achieve over thenext twelve months. It goes withoutsaying that we are in for a period ofchange in certain areas but thefundamental principles that we strive towork to remain the same.

Finally, on behalf of the members of theExecutive Committee, I should like tothank all members of Scouting inWarwickshire for their support andenthusiastic commitment. We lookforward to working closely with youover the next year.

Sid Russell | County Chairman

Wanted: Programme & Activities Manager

A few weeks ago all the Explorers inWarwickshire gathered in one place foranother Motiv8 event, yes I know what you'rethinking... Upwards of 300 Explorersaltogether on one camp, chaos must haveensued. But rest assured, apart from thetraditional first-night camp chaos it all wentsmoothly.

Saturday was the day for activities. Alongsidethe normal Scouty bases of rifle shooting,archery, climbing and water activities, therewere a few more unusual activities. Eventssuch as a JCB challenge (although we wereactually told they weren't real JCBs, they werea different type of digger). In addition a smallsession in bush-craft fire-lighting ranalongside a martial arts session.

On Saturday I was also fortunate to bepresented with my Queen's Scout Award bythe Scout Commissioner for England. It was areal honour, both in meeting a prominentScouter and also in that my brother waspresented with his Queen's Scout Award atMotiv8 in 2008.

Sunday saw the return of the WipeoutChallenge in which Districts were organisedinto teams and pitted against each other in aseries of wacky activities, includingattempting to chariot an Explorer across alength of water in two kayaks. Also on Sundaythere was the opportunity for a number ofExplorers to be taken around a field in aSKODA Motorsport rally car at speed, anevent which was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Chris McGhee| Explorer Scout

MOTIVATMOTIVAT1010Nm o t i v 8 - 2 0 1 0

MOTIVAT10N

After 15 months of preparation I joined 13th World ScoutMoot in Kenya. A Moot is an international camp for Scoutsaged 18-25 whose 2,000 participants join together in units of50 people for 2 weeks, sharing cultures and experiencing thereal Africa. I was assigned as a unit leader directingparticipants to their activities, making sure food wascollected as well as waking them up!

We undertook community service at Mung'ala primaryschool painting walls and playing games as well as visiting alocal handicrafts cooperative to plant 200 trees. Onsiteactivities included spoon carving, making cups fromcoconuts, fire starting, bamboo pioneering and varioussports including the traditional British and Irish Lions vs.Australia rugby match (which we won!).

There were opportunities for safari walks, expeditions andtrips to the elephant and giraffe orphanages. The mainRowallan campsite had a global development village whereparticipants discussed issues around faith, environment,personal development and safety.

After the Moot intrepid UK contingent members took a 10hour off road bus journey into Tanzania to begin the epicclimb of the world highest freestanding mountain - MountKilimanjaro. After 4 days, including the final ascent startingat midnight, I finally reached the summit of Uhuru peak 2minutes before sunrise on the 11th August. Standing at5895m for a short period I was the highest man in Africa! Thesun peaked over the cloud base and bathed the summit infresh light casting a shadow of the mountain over the cloudsout to the west - what a magnificent finish to an amazingadventure!

Hakuna Matata!

Philip Hargreaves | Rugby Network Coordinator

Moot Adventure

Frank LatchamSeptember saw the Frank Latcham annual Cub Scout competition hostedby Atherstone. Five districts joined in attempting challenges whichincluded knotting, arrows, communications and basic Scouting as well ascircus skills fun. At the end of the day the champions were Atherstone.

The day culminated in a tug of war won by Nuneaton. Thanks toAtherstone and the sun which shone!

BearTrek 2010 - 20th November 2010

Network memberscame together lastmonth for WANG -an evening ofp r o g r a m m esupport, meetingnew friends andsilly games. TheDistrict NetworkUnits interacted

with each other to discuss the pros andcons of being in Network, and whatchanges they would like to see as aCounty Network. Thank you to all whoattended and helped out, and we hopeto see you all at WANG 2011!

Mike BarrettCounty Network Coordinator

For Adult Training Dates check www.warwickshirescouts.org.uk/calendar/

WASU is up and running and starting to take hold, with over 60 members in the processof joining. Geoff Russell has been appointed Manager of the General County Support Unitand Paul Skipper will look after the Alfrey Activity Centre Unit. The Units currently beingformed are WAGS, Alfrey Activity Centre Unit as well as the County General SupportUnit. And in 2011 we will be helping at Get In.

If you are interested in joining us please complete an AA or OH form and return via yourunit manager to John Foster at jandpf48@btinternet.com . All appointments in Fellowshipwill cease on 31 December this year so now is the time to join one of Warwickshire'sActive Support Units.

Look out for more activities for WASU on the County web- site or in WISPA.

Warwickshire Active Support Units (WASU)

WAGS - Cubs Audition 7th November 2010

Supervision of young people in outdooractivities

We all know the importance of ensuring wecomply with the guidance and rules aroundrunning activities so that we can be sure wehave minimised potential hazards whilstdelivering an exciting activity.

The rules and guidance sets out adult toyoung people ratios in certain circumstancesand in others these should be determined bya risk assessment. What we don't want is fortoo much reliance to be placed on these ratiosin terms of monitoring the group andtherefore we need to consider the importanceof when head counts need to be conducted,where and by whom.

Risk Assessment

A risk assessment must be carried out for allactivities but this does not need to be a timeconsuming process. More important is that arisk assessment is regularly reviewed bothbefore and during an activity. Often it is theactivity which is run regularly with littleperceived risk where incidents may occur.

PLEASE READ Regular re-assessment of familiar activities willallow those running it to identify changes inthe risks over time. Further information can befound in factsheet FS120000 Activities - RiskAssessment.

Head Counts

It is difficult to be prescriptive about whenhead counts should be done. It is importantthese are considered for all age groups in alloutdoor activities and, specifically, whenyoung people are moving as a group. Aconsidered view is these should be donewhen there is a change of terrain orovercoming a particular hazard. In theyounger age groups this could be done whena walking group moves from one terrain toanother (e.g. from one field to another orfrom a road to a track) or crossing the road.For those in adventurous activities it could bewhen paddling around a bend, movingaround a rocky outcrop or, generally, whenmoving in poor visibility. Furthermore, forlarger groups, it should be agreed whoconducts these to remove the expectationsomeone else will do it.

Jason Wiggins | Heath & Safety Coordinator

Early in October over 60 leaders from the Cubsection gathered at the Alfrey Centre for theweekend. Supported by around 20 others fromDistricts, County and HQ they enjoyed a fullweekend with a programme which ranged fromfire-lighting to risk assessment and a campfireworkshop to spiritual development. Lots of funwas had and friendships made. The weekendhas given the Cub section a great platform forWarwickshire Cub Scouting to move forwardfrom.

Graham Howe | ACC Cubs

Cub Leader Weekend

General County Support UnitWe have had an active few months preparing teasfor an SAS meeting at Broadwater, putting on craftstalls at the County Beaver day and at Motiv10nwhere we were kept extremely busy.

A very pleasant BBQ was held by Tony Guy at hislovely home in Preston Bagot and we've alsoenjoyed cream teas at Packington Hall, the RugbyBBQ and our own BBQ at David and Linda's. Morerecently 11 of us had a day out in Warwick visitingthe Military Museum and the beautiful MillGardens. We have had several groups visit theScout & Guide Museum and a special tidy up daywhen most of our members went along.

Sadly we lost our founder, Gordon Richards, who isvery much missed. We now only have two of theoriginal founder members left. At Gordon's funeral19 of our 21 members managed to get along.

Future plans include hosting more visits to theCounty Museum and sorting out the BroadwaterChapel area, putting in boundary hedges/ bushesetc. As our 24th birthday year comes to a close wenow looking forward to a new era as the Fellowshipmoves forward to Active Support.

Geoff Russell

Get In... book by 31st December 2010

WAGS tickets now on sale! - Tickets for thefortieth WAGS show are now on sale. OurScouts and Guides will be performing from28th February to 5th March at the Royal SpaCentre, Leamington Spa. Tickets can bepurchased through the link on the Countywebsite or by returning the enclosedbooking form. We can guarantee you a greatevening out !

WAGS calling Cub Scouts - We now have aGang of 90 Scouts, Guides, Explorer Scouts,Network and Leaders and it is time to call forCubs to join us. The registration for Cubs willtake place on Sunday 7th November, 2.00 -3:30pm at Dale Street Methodist Church,Leamington Spa. We are looking for between20 and 30 Cubs to be in the show. We have agreat number for them this year, and theywill also be joining the rest of the gang in theopening and first act finale. See the Countywebsite for more information.

Success at WolveyThe Parish Council entered four categories in the Best VillageCompetition: Community Projects, Communication, History &heritage & Environment. New Scout Group 1st Wolvey wasentered into the Community Projects segment along with theSummer Festival and the boardwalk development in the wetlandarea of the village.

Wolvey village were winners of the Community Project section,received Silver for the Environment section and were placedthird overall so did very well.

I am delighted that such a young Group led by Paul Merchantand his team has established itself so quickly in the Community.

Clive Dunn | DC Nuneaton

Atherston District Beaver Scouts- One of the busiest seasons uponus but one of the most pleasantespecially for the Beaver Scoutsection because at six to eight yearold the festivities are full of magic,excitement, anticipation and fun.The Harvest with an abundance ofmerchandise, then swiftly intoHalloween with a mixture ofsqueals and laughter leading to aspectacular firework display andhot jacket potatoes grasping thefingers tips tumbling into theenchantment of Christmas.

Wood End and Hartshill Coloniesare holding a joint Christmas sleepover on 4th-5th December and visitingthe Christmas Adventure, planting bulbs,feeding the reindeer and seeing Santa, back atcamp there's craft, games and ChristmasDinner. The BL's are going Greek with a mealand entertainment on 13th November. TheDistrict Carol Service is being hosted by WaterOrton Tuesday 7th December at St. Peter andSt Paul's in Water Orton 6pm -7pm. In the NewYear District beavers are joining together forSpring Watch at the Country Park.

Gail Clarke | ADC

Diary Dates:2010

20 Nov - Bear Trek Scouts

31 Dec - Get In bookings should be in

2011

12 Feb - GSL & DC Forum

28 Feb - 5 March WAGS

31 March - Get In final balances due

20-22 May - Get In County Camp

For more information & specific trainingdetails please consult the County websitecalendar.

Next WISPA deadline:NOTE DATE CHANGE: 7th January 2010 - all articles & adverts. Contact: Alan Peedle - 5 Broomybank, Kenilworth CV8 2SF | 01926 851195 | alan@acstededesign.co.uk

Why would that be?

Kevin Perks, our current Programme and Activities Manager, ismoving on to pastures new - we're going to miss him! Thank youKevin!

Me?

Yes, you! We're looking for the right person for the role, and wewon’t know that until we meet you! So whatever your experienceor background, if you're interested please get in touch!

Contact: Andy Walker on 01926 774277 or e-mail:andy.walker24@googlemail.com - for an information pack

Fancy a new adventure?

We're looking for an enthusiasticScouter, with a keen interest insupporting adults, to lead andcoordinate the county Programmeand Activities team - our AssistantCounty Commissioners.

County useful numbers:See County website.