Re: Scout Olympics - Need Ideas
(no name) ((no email))
Tue, 16 Jul 1996 12:19:27 -0500
Bruce Mathers wanted to know about some ideas for a Scout version
of the Summer Olympic Games. Seems to me that Bruce has a built-in
membership raiser if he does it right!!:
Huh?? How??
Well, the Summer Olympic Games are individual and group competitions
designed to enhance fair play and a spirit of world brotherhood. Isn't that
what _Scouting_ is partly about too??
Instead of limiting this to just "Scout-type" events, expand it to include
events like:
*a tug-of-war over a wet mini-pool
* card games like Uno or rummy
* neighborhood identification (like a combination of a marathon and
a "scavenger hunt")
* a "kim's game" memory game
* a map and compass game or a basic orienteering match
* a "riflery" event using those squirtguns and cans or ballons at a long
distance
*a obsticle course
* a "babysitting game" (like "fastest diaperer", "find the hazards", etc.)
(those are some that I can think of off the top of my head; I've stayed away
from things like swimming and canoeing because there may be a problem with
non-Scouts doing these things without some sort of "permission slip" or
something...you don't need paperwork to bog this down more than it has to be)
You can use blow-ups of each of those old Skill Awards to serve as "event
locations"...they look like something one would see at an Olympic venue
anyway! Just put the skill award in the copier, blow it up to a size of a 8x11
sheet of paper, and volla!, that with a dining fly, can serve as an excellent
venue location!
Then, have each Patrol to go out and get NON-SCOUTS to be a part of their
"Olympic Team", stating that each Patrol MUST be six to eight members in
order to compete without a "waiver" from the "Olympic Committee" (the
Troops' Committee). This has the added goal of getting some non-Scouts
that thought that "Scouts are geeks" to try out some of these "things" that
make Scouts Scouts...and to have some fun this Olympic month!
Each Patrol "country" must have a flag (natually) and a song (a SONG??
Yes, a song, preferably something from the top-40 or something that they
listen to. The "Olympic Committee" has final approval over the song which
is played at the end of the competition at the medal awarding presentation.)
This again adds "ownership" of the Games to each individual group and forces
them to make some decisions about what they wish to stand under.
Some ideas for songs?? "We Are the Champions" by Queen. "We Must Be Free"
by Garth Brooks . Celine Dion's current song, which is being used by the
Olympics as a theme. The Fifth Symphony. "Up, Up and Away". Something
that the members of that Patrol enjoy hearing (and that the Troop Committee
can tolerate perhaps hearing over and over and over *heheheee*) Find (or
create) a flagpole so that the winning "country's" flag can be raised.
A strong note here: USE PATROL NAMES AND PATROL FLAGS. Insist on this.
This is not a mini "USA aganist the world" competition... That's why the
national anthems of other countries wouldn't be appropriate and that each
Patrol should find a song of their own.
Finally, no matter what the score is at the very end, give everyone a medal.
Those nice BSA bronze, silver and gold medals are perfect for this event,
suspended from a ribbon made up of the Olympic five colors (you can get the
ribbon material from a fabric store or have a parent or grandparent that
does sewing to put them together for you). The medals are inexpensive, your
local Council will love you, and most important (for the Scouts and
new Scouts, we hope), they can wear them with their official uniforms.
That's a great idea, Bruce....my complements to you and your Senior Patrol
Leader.
Settummanque!
(MAJ) Mike L. Walton (Settummanque, the blackeagle) (
co-Owner, Blackeagle Services of Kentucky (502.826.7046) __)_
174 Chapelwood Drive, Henderson, Kentucky 42420-5036 | ** |]
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anytime!
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