Biting off more than they can chew…

[CNYScouter 46]

The Ship will be helping to staff a Boy Scout Camp-o-ree in a couple of weeks and are coming up with an event to run.

The Camp-o-ree staff is planning on the high side for 300 Scouts to attend.

 

The Ship will have to man the event for 3 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the afternoon.

This means during this time they will have to run between 40 to 60 patrols through the event or one patrol every 6 to 9 minutes.

Due to other commitments and sports it looks like there will be only 3 young ladies there for the entire day on Saturday to run this. (others will be in and out during the weekend).

 

The Ship would like to do a relay race.

What they have planned is pretty ambitious and even though I think it would go over well what they are planning is way too much given the time frame and resources.

 

In fact any one part of the relay race would be enough for the event.

They have already eliminated a couple of things but my subtle hints to pair down even more dont seem to be getting across.

I have suggested to them to get the relay race together and try it out before hand but nothing has been arranged for this either.

As this is a scored event once they start running it at the camp-o-ree we cant scale it back.

 

I dont want to tell them what to do but I also dont want them to be overwhelmed with running this either.

 

 

 

 

 

[Joni4TA 10]

Lead by example, but let them alone to learn by their mistakes?

 

Tough spot.

 

Convincing them to scale back or "try it out "first" sounds the way to go. I would nearly insist/coerce them to take a dry run and do a time-trial. I would hate to see a failure due to lack of proper planning. I would feel bad for the girls running it, but worse for the 40-60 patrols trying to participate in the event.

 

Sometimes we all forget to see the forest through the trees. I hope they open up eyes wide before it's too late!

[SSScout 1616]

1) ?Life Ring Throw??

 

2) Recruit more SScouts? From other local Troops? VCrews? Ships?

 

3) ?Bucket Brigade relay??

 

4) More than one station (see #2)

 

Oww...

[Oak Tree 15]

Ok, I understand you're trying to let them lead and learn. But in this case there are a whole bunch of other people who are depending on them to run a reasonable station.

 

This is one of my pet peeves about Scouts in general, both when I was a Scout, and now as an adult. I'm not in favor of allowing failure in a way that inconveniences hundreds of people. Disorganization and chaos is something you can expect at some troop level functions as the boys learn the ropes, but it is also a hallmark of larger Scouting events in my experience, and I'm not a big fan.

 

I think I'd insist on a trial run.

[CNYScouter 46]

 

As a unit leader I think the hardest decision to make is when to sit back and let them fail and when to step-in and give advise or even to say they cant do something.

 

Its really hard walking that fine line between letting them fail to learn something and letting them fail so bad they dont want to be involved anymore and having to realize that there are 100s of others out there that are depending on them to run a fun station.

 

All the events at this camp-o-ree are being planned and run by youth members.

Adults are handling the judging and compiling the scores but everything else is being done by the Scouts as it should be in a boy lead/boy run program.

 

At last nights meeting, after discussing the amount of patrols they will have to run through, the Ship did agree to scale back.

The young ladies are convinced that what they have planned will work in the time frame they have.

I dont think its enough yet but it might be manageable if they take the time to set it up and run it through before hand.

 

Unfortunately recruiting help from other units isnt an option.

I cant get any of the other Venturing Crews or the other Ship in our council interested in doing joint activities.

This District also scheduled this the same weekend as the Brotherhood Camp-o-ree which is done with the Canadian Scouts.

Many Troops from the other districts (and a few from this district) are attending so they are not available.