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!
Archery and Fire Lighting 27th September 2022 (updated 27th September 2022) | By Sean Edwards Over the past 2 weeks, the unit split into 2 and did fire lighting and archery at Stanford Scout Campsite. The explorers started fires using a variety of techniques including flint and steel, exothermic chemical reactions and electricity! Congratulations to Nathan who was our most accurate archer!
Taskmaster 12th September 2022 (updated 12th September 2022) | By Sean Edwards This evening we held a taskmaster evening. 5 different challenges to compete to be crowned the winners from the evening and secure lots of sweets! The tasks were varied including potato art, creating a like for like portrait of the unit leader using only natural materials, eat one, balance 1 and throw, egg chariots and story time. We also spoke to several of the Explorers and managed to sign off 4 CSA platinums by looking back at the last 18 months of their scouting. There are 4 more close behind so keep getting those D of E sections signed off! A big thanks to Katie for organising the evening, enjoy your much needed rest at university and see you soon!
Silver D of E Qualifier Expedition 30th August 2022 (updated 30th August 2022) | By Sean Edwards Congratulations to both of our groups who successfully completed their D of E expeditions in the New Forest this weekend. Walking around 60km over the 3 days, the teams also demonstrated teamwork, navigation skills and excellent camp craft. We had excellent weather and both teams actually looked like they were having fun most of the time!!!A few photos are below. It was more hard for the supervisors who spent the weekend visiting local cafes, eating ice cream and making new friends!! And one team had so much energy at the end they decided some slow motion action shots were required!
Autumn Term Programme 2022 20th August 2022 (updated 20th August 2022) | By Sean Edwards We hope you have all had a good summer. A new term means a new programme which we have attached below. Take note of some key event dates to get these in your diary now! See you all in September. Sean, Clair, Phil, Ben, Nicole, Elliott and Katie DateActivityLocationOther Details05/09/2022Monopoly Run4th WorthFull Uniform12/09/2022Task Master4th WorthFull Uniform19/09/2022Archery / Fire LightingStanfordScarves / Outdoor Clothing26/09/2022Archery / Fire LightingStanfordScarves / Outdoor Clothing03/10/2022D of E Reports / Heraldry4th WorthFull Uniform / Investitures10/10/2022Phil’s Practical Life Skills4th WorthFull Uniform17/10/2022Indoor CavingBeacon HillScarves / Outdoor Clothing24/10/2022NO MEETINGNO MEETINGNO MEETING31/10/2022Halloween GamesStanfordHalloween Fancy Dress07/11/2022Tennis / Rifle Shooting4th WorthDetails TBC14/11/2022Tennis / Rifle Shooting4th WorthDetails TBC21/11/2022Night HikeTBCHike Clothing28/11/2022Jamboree Evening / International4th WorthFull Uniform05/12/2022Phil’s Cooking Challenge4th WorthFull Uniform12/12/2022Christmas EventTBCTBC Shackleton-Programme-Autumn-2022Download
Kent Jamboree 2022 9th August 2022 (updated 9th August 2022) | By Sean Edwards From 30th July to 6th August, 15 Explorers attended KIJ2022 with over 5000 other young people. Held at Kent County Showground, the Explorers were able to partake in a large variety of activities including: Assault CoursePunch WallWackamoleGiant TwisterWrecking ballGiant hungry hipposBungie run Slack LineZorbsPower KitesQuadsCartsCars4×4 MicrolightClimbingBag jumpZip wireAbseilingBoulderingBoulder Cubes This was the first unit week long camp in over 5 years and everyone had lots of fun and many new friendships were made. A small selection of photos are available below although many more have been shared with the participants and families.
D of E Bronze Expeditions 17th July 2022 (updated 17th July 2022) | By Sean Edwards Congratulations to our two explorer teams who completed their Duke of Edinburgh Award Bronze expeditions in Ashdown Forest this weekend in the heatwave! Both teams worked amazingly well with each other and the participants even had enough energy left to tackle the Blackland Farm assault course. The Duke of Edinburgh programme gives young people aged 14-24, the opportunity to develop themselves in scenarios they would not normally experience. The fun but challenging expeditions take young people out of their comfort zones, whilst building confidence, teamwork, life skills and friendships. If you interested in joining us, get in touch today.
Shackleton Explorers – Raft Building @ Tilgate 11th July 2022 (updated 11th July 2022) | By Sean Edwards Tonight our Explorers built traditional rafts from pioneering poles and barrels before giving them a test drive on Tilgate Lake. 3 groups built 3 different rafts and surprisingly all held up fairly well when launched. That didn’t stop a few of the Explorers accidentally falling in! Traditional rafting is a great way to try something new as traditional rafts are very different to other crafts. It’s also a true test of teamwork, as you’ll all need to play your part to get the raft moving in the right direction. The best pioneering projects are the ones that are plenty of fun. Traditional rafting is about putting your knotting skills to the test and trusting your teammates’ techniques. After all, if it all falls apart, you’ll be the ones getting wet!
Tomahawk Throwing 21st June 2022 (updated 21st June 2022) | By Sean Edwards This week, Shackleton Explorers had an evening of Tomahawk Throwing to build on the taster session last year. Several of them were naturals managing to perfectly hit the target over and over… others were not so practised!!! They also spent some of the waiting time, planning their upcoming assessed expeditions and attempting to build match stick rockets with limited success! A few photos are available below:
