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Scouts seek thrills as Outdoor Adventure Week begins
01/04/2010
As schools close and some Scout Groups stop meeting for the two week Easter holiday, there is still plenty of adventure to be had, and Scouts up and down the country are looking for thrills through the BBC’s ThrillSeeker events.
Friday 2 April sees the start of Outdoor Adventure Week: ten days committed to promoting the benefits of getting outdoors and having fun while having a taste of a host of adventurous activities. From river kayaking to skiing, and synchronised swimming to balloon riding, there are hundreds of activities on offer in the next two weeks.
Opening our gates
Adventure is, of course, at the heart of what Scouts do, so it was no surprise that The Scout Association were approached to be official partners of the ThrillSeeker campaign. The BBC started ThrillSeeker in response to a survey, in which an alarming number of adults admitted that they were missing some adventure in their lives, and would like the opportunity to try something new. Scout centres have got involved by opening their gates to thrill-thirsty members of the public offering all the kinds of activities that Scouting does best: zipwires, climbing and raft building to name but a few.
Choose your own adventure
Scouts who aren’t on camp during the spring break may like to give the ThrillSeeker database a look, and see what’s on offer in your neighbourhood. Many of the events being offered are free or at cut price to enable you to get involved without breaking the bank.
To start your thrill-seeking, click on to bbc.co.uk/thrillseeker and open up the Event Finder.
Business as usual
With all this going on, it could be easy to forget the host of camps, festivals and activities that Scout Groups have already got organised in a variety of places. The 3rd Hampton Hill Scouts are packed and ready for a camp at Tolmers Activity Centre in Hertfordshire. Assistant Scout Leader Simon Riggs said ‘Our Scouts love camping, and while the Easter holiday might be about lounging around and seeing family for some, for our Troop it’s about going back to basics and learning the skills that make you self-sufficient.’ Activities planned for the camp include skiing and snowboarding, a 12km hike and cooking on open fires. And it’s not just the Scouts who get a buzz from it. ‘As a leader, seeing the Scouts come through the week and do the kinds of things their parents might not let them do at home is what it’s all about. They go away 6ft tall, buzzing with confidence.’
Meanwhile, in the Lake District, over 500 members of the Scout Network are assembling at Great Tower campsite for the Network Gathering event. Organiser Ian Lonsdale said there was no shortage of outdoor adventure on show: ‘We’ve about 15 activities to take part in, including ghyll scrambling, horse riding and mountain biking. The demand for outdoor pursuits has grown massively over the eight years we’ve been running Gathering. We love putting the activities on, and people love doing them. There’s definitely an appetite for adventure – campers can have a go at something, or come with their own permits and go off into the Lakes by themselves.’
At the opposite end of England, there’s something of an adventure revolution afoot. The Isle of Wight Revolution camp for Explorer Scouts and Network members kicks off today, and attracts 250 young people to the island. Starting on April Fool’s Day, the camp has adopted a comedy theme, so promises to deliver a barrelful of laughs as well as the thrills and spills of offroad buggies, fast rib rides and laser tag in the woods. One Explorer Scout Unit is making the trip down from Humberside to join in the fun. Speaking from the ferry, 17-year old Young Leader, Tor, said, 'I'm really excited and looking forward to all the activities. The rib rides look really fun. I like doing adventurous things, it gives you quite an adrenaline rush. We go away quite often which is great, because we're never stuck at home doing nothing.'
Odette Smyth, the leader accompanying the Unit to the island commented 'It's about time we gave these Young Leaders a bit of adventure for themselves, to thank them for the hard work they put in helping younger Scouts. Outdoor adventure stops them becoming "boring people", and it's so important during their teenage years to keep up their enthusiasm so that they might stick with Scouting and become leaders.'
Share your plans
Let us in on what you’re doing during Outdoor Adventure Week, and if you attend a BBC ThrillSeeker event, review it by posting your comments on this page, or via The Scout Association’s page on Facebook.
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