Indoor Caving 18th October 2022 (updated 18th October 2022) | By Sean Edwards On Monday 17th, we visited some indoor caving to see how our explorers could navigate through dark, tight spaces! After familiarisation, we had some head to head races before Avighna was named the overall winner. Well done all for giving it a try, next year we will have to find some real caves!
Chief Scout Awards / Investitures and D of E Expedition Reports 5th October 2022 (updated 5th October 2022) | By Sean Edwards On Monday 3rd October, Shackleton Explorers had a very busy evening! We started off with a brief lesson in Heraldry before the Explorers started to design their own coat of arms to represent them. We then moved onto a more formal part of the evening where we had expedition reports from our 2 D of E Bronze groups and 2 D of E Silver Groups (which parents were welcome to attend). At the end of the evening, we were joined by Robert Sawyer (our County Commissioner) who presented Chief Scout Gold Awards to Ash, Kevin, Ben and Samuel. He is also presented Chief Scout Platinum Awards to Millie, Jake, Sam and Olivia. We then invested 6 new members to the unit before Robert awarded the Award for Merit to Sean (who is the Explorer Scout Commissioner) for his commitment to Scouting over an extended period of time. All in all, a very busy evening celebrating the success of our youth members over the past year – lets hope this continues into future years! D of E Reports Investitures and CSA Presentations
Downsman Hike 2nd October 2022 (updated 2nd October 2022) | By Sean Edwards This year, we entered 2 teams into the annual Downsman Hike Competition. One team competed in Class E and one in Class B. Both teams completed the competition which is a first for Shackleton. A big congratulations to you all and hopefully it doesn’t take too long for them to fully recover! Class E – Joe, Nathan, Corey and Charlie Class E is suitable for Explorers with hiking experience. Total Route Distance38 miles. With the rest sections, each person will hike less than the total distanceRouteSteyning Bowl to EastbourneStart timesBetween 07:30 & 08:30Time allowedUp to 18 hours to complete the hikeAge restrictionsMinimum combined team age of 48 years and a maximum combined team age of 62, only whole years are added together. Each individuals must be under 18 years old.Team composition4 people to a team, with only 3 hiking at any one time – the fourth will be rested and transported to the next designated Service Area with the Team’s Service Crew. When at a designated Service Area, the rested person will re-join their team, swapping places with a teammate whose turn it is to rest nextAwardsThe ‘Chief Scout’s’ trophy is presented to the team that completes the route in the fastest time. A Downsman medal is awarded to everyone who completes the hike Class B – Xander, Sam, Ben and Jake Class B is targeted at older Explorer teams with good hiking skills, experience, fitness and endurance. Total Route Distance55 miles. With the rest sections, each person will hike less than the total distanceRouteBignor Hill to EastbourneStart timesBetween 0600 and 0630Time allowedUp to 20 hours to complete the hikeAge restrictionsMinimum combined team age of 48, only whole years are added together. All individuals must be under 18 years oldTeam composition4 people to a team, with only 3 hiking at any one time – the fourth will be rested and transported to the next designated Service Area with the Team’s Service Crew. When at a designated Service Area, the rested person will re-join their team, swapping places with a teammate whose turn it is to rest next.AwardsThe “Boot” trophy will be presented to the fastest team to complete the hike. A Downsman medal is awarded to everyone who completes the hike Photos
Inter-District West Sussex Shooting Competition 2nd October 2022 (updated 2nd October 2022) | By Sean Edwards On Sunday 2nd October, West Sussex Scouts held their first inter-district Explorer shooting competition. 3 teams entered after a 4th had to withdraw at short notice. They took part in various events including 6yrd rifle and pistol, 10yrd rifle and pistol, crossbow and sprint and shoot. Congratulations to Crawley Scouts Team for scoring the highest combined score across all of the events which consisted of Freya, Olivia, Jack and Mirjam. We wish our team luck for the national championships in a few weeks time!
