Our adventure to Camp Wilson is over for another year. The 2015 Projectoree is in the bag.
The Projectoree is a Chain Bridge District competition between local troops who send patrols composed of at least seven scouts to compete in various games like the Caber Toss, Bad Plumbing, Spider Web, and Nuclear Reactor.
This year we sent three patrols, The Donkeys, The Purple Narwhals, and The Dogfish (pictured below in this order). I am pleased to announce we have finally broken Troop 111’s dominance with our Purple Narwhals taking 1st place overall (the Dogfish finished in 3rd place). Amazing.
And as a side note, there were a total 28 patrols and 12 different games. We ended up winning four (or 33%) of the games as well. Double amazing. Each patrol won at least one game!
In all three patrols, I really noticed the big guys taking charge, organizing and helping the younger scouts. There was no barking off orders, no stomping off or anything that didn’t live up to the purpose of the Projectoree (which is to develop leadership skills and teamwork…and to beat our fellow scouts in Troop 111).
This is a two-day affair (well, at least for some troops attending it was!). The majority headed down to Lorton on Friday afternoon, stopping for pizza on the way and then arriving at Camp Wilson in time to set up camp and the Caber Toss game, which we were staffing.
We awoke to cloudy skies and the arrival of some of the big fellas who had played lacrosse and baseball the night before.
Various breakfast surprises were cooked up by our grubmasters (Robert, Nathaniel, Kai, and Jason), and we were ready to go. Rain was forecast for sometime during the afternoon, but not until after the games.
The guys headed off in three different directions and awaited the air horn. When it blew, they were fast at it. Each game/challenge lasts about 20 minutes and then they’re off to the next one.
The Staff: Ethan, Max, Aaron, and Matthew
Thanks to four of our older scouts who acted as staff for the Caber Toss. Aaron, Ethan C., Max and Matthew did a great job keeping the game running smoothly and not allowing anyone to go home with a caber impaled in their forehead!
Lunch was served around noon. Delicious hot dogs and chips for all! If anyone cares to criticize English cooking, please think before you start that conversation!
After the boys had had their fill of said dogs and had a brief nap, they were back at it again. The games concluded around 3 p.m., and a voluntary game of dodgeball was on the cards. Our boys were undefeated, which seemed to frustrate one of our fellow troops a great deal.
The Projectoree ends with the always-fun Scoutmaster Chariot Race. The scouts use some rope to tie together what might, in the minds of some, resemble an ancient Roman chariot. But the truth is that the brave scoutmaster has the privilege of sitting in the middle hole of the triangular chariot, holding on for dear life, and then being carried across a field by a group of raging scouts in a big foot race to the finish line.
Due to your scoutmaster's bone density and muscle mass, we usually ask Assistant Scoutmaster Wright to sit in for this event. But due to Mr. Wright's absence this year, Assistant Scoutmaster Manarin summoned the courage and volunteered to serve as this year's chariot passenger (or as we like to call him, The Victim). The boys did a great job, winning their heat to get into the final.
During the final run, it took about 20 yards for things to begin going south very fast for Mr. Manarin. A major breakdown in strength in the chariot's lashing, as well as a lack of coordination among the troop's chariot horses, caused Mr. Manarin to hit the deck at quite some speed and be dragged a few feet on the ground. It wasn't until the chariot's main horses (Will, William, and Charlie) received a brain signal that the scouts needed to switch the chariot speed to Slow and then All Stop pretty quickly, or Mr. Manarin would not likely have made it alive to his next meal.
In the end, all was well, and a simple brush down was all that Mr. Manarin needed. Check out the video below.
Asst. Scoutmaster Forrer explaining the possible dangers involved in the Chariot Race to Asst. Scoutmaster Manarin.
Back to camp we went, and the rain started. Tarps, etc., were up and the fire lit. Dinner was then served, which, for all three of our Projectoree patrols, was a variation on the theme of mac and cheese.
Then something weird happened. All but two other troops went home. They simply packed up and left. The forecast was for rain, not tornadoes, earthquakes, or hurricanes, but simply some rain. I don’t understand what this will teach their scouts. Are we all fair weather campers now? As soon as some rain drops fall, is it now common for Boy Scout Troops to head for the warmth of their homes?
I admit (and Mrs. Salt will confirm) that I’ll camp in almost any weather condition. But I firmly believe we need to teach the boys how to have fun outside in all sorts of weather. And to a man, I think everyone in our troop did just that.
Sure some tents got a little wet, but even our youngest and newest scouts were great. Camping is an outdoor sport, and it rains outdoors! Very odd, indeed.
Breakfast was followed by camp break down, and concluded this year's Projectoree with each scout's rose, bud, and thorn.
At that point, the eight scouts in our troop who are headed for The Northern Tier this summer then trekked over to Pohick Bay Park for our first practice paddle! I’m sure all will be fine by the time we reach the Boundary Waters, but I’m going to vote for a shortish amount of paddling and lots of fishing. Canoeing long distances in variations of capital and lower case S’s makes for a long day on the water.
All in all it was a fun weekend, especially when our scouts finally knocked Troop 111 off the top of the Projectoree totem pole. It was a superb effort by Dominic and his merry band of Purple Narwhals (you'll have to Google the name...).
As we say back home,"Well done, chaps! Tea anyone?"
Matt Salt -- Scoutmaster, Troop 1916