Halloween Evening 30th October 2023 (updated 30th October 2023) | By Sean Edwards This evening we met at Stanford Scout Campsite for our traditional Halloween wide games. We started the evening with a mummy making competition. This was quickly follow by capture the pumpkin, donuts from a string and finally apple bobbing. Well done to all the Explorers who dressed up – special shout out to Charlie for his flattering costume!!
Fencing and NPAS Visit 16th October 2023 (updated 16th October 2023) | By Sean Edwards Over the last 2 weeks, the unit has been split. Half visited NPAS in Redhill whilst the other half had a fencing lesson from Crawley Sword Club. A big thanks to NPAS and Crawley Sword Club for spending time to share their skills with our members. A few photos are below.
County Awards Presentation 16th October 2023 (updated 16th October 2023) | By Sean Edwards Well done to our Explorers who attended the County Award Presentation at the weekend. We had members collecting their D of E as well as their Chief Scout Gold and Platinum. We also had several collect their young leader belt buckle. The CSA Gold is the highest award a Scout can earn. To complete it, you need to complete all nine of the Challenge Awards, plus six Activity badges. The Chief Scout’s Platinum Award is open to Explorers and is linked to Bronze DofE. As well as completing some time volunteering, learning a new skill, getting better at a physical activity and a two day expedition as well as some activities from the International, Community and Values list. The Young Leader Belt Buckle is awarded on completion of the entire young leader scheme (completion of ALL training modules and missions). This takes a lot of commitment over and above just attending Explorers.
Downsman Hike 2023 9th October 2023 | By Sean Edwards This year, we entered 2 teams into the annual Downsman Hike Competition. Both teams completed Class E and managed to finish in record times for our unit. A big congratulations to you all and hopefully it doesn’t take too long for them to fully recover! Some details are below: 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
Survival Camp 2023 1st October 2023 (updated 1st October 2023) | By Sean Edwards This weekend, 18 of our Explorers braved Stanford for a survival themed camp. On Friday, they pitched hammocks and started fires to cook their evening snack. On Saturday, they had to cook all of their meals using only fires and no utensils. They also had to build a Bivi to house their group which would be their home for the second night! On Sunday, they had to build a survival gadget and then watched a demo around how to skin and prepare a rabbit. Unfortunately this year the other rabbits didn’t defrost in time for the explorers to have a go! We unfortunately didn’t get to complete some of our other activities as the bivi’s took longer to build. We also water tested the bivi’s today with varying levels of water tightness!!!
