Cyclocross

Thanks to all those who attended yesterday's Cyclocross on what was a wet and wild Sunday afternoon in the woods. We had 7 cubs, split into three groups: 8, 9, and 10 year olds. All three groups raced together after a staggered start. There were 31 cubs in all. Beth and Lewis started first, then Ethan, Nathan, Sammy, Daniel, then following up the rear was Matty Smith. The results were as follows, Nathan 2nd, Beth 8th, Lewis 9th, Ethan 15th, Matty 21st, Sammy 27th and Daniel T 31st. Unfortunately Matty ran most of the way due to mechanical failure. Lewis Johnson, our only scout entrant put in a brave effort against bigger opposition, finishing 14th out of 17. Not bad when you consider he had too much fun from the night before and no sleep. Eventually the heavyweight Hoyland ran away with all the trophies once more through shear numbers again. After all the excitement it was home for a well earned bath and bike scrub. The mud and sludge was hiddeous. I can speak for all (as I rode the course with the cubs with other parents), it was a gruelling course and everybody did very well. Well Done. Chill

Happy New Year…

Happy Chinese New Year to you all. Kim has worked very hard in the kitchen with Scouts and Cubs this week, and they’ve enjoyed cooking and eating noodles, rice, and stir-fry… some even managed to eat it with their chop sticks!

A big “congratulations” is due to Mini-Matt who has achieved his Level 5 Swimmer Staged Activity Badge at the age of just 10! Remember, those of you who didn’t complete everything when we were at Wombwell can ask an adult to supervise you swimming. If they write and sign a note stating what you have done, you can complete your badges. Check out what you need to do on the Scoutbase website.

For those of you who are interested in the Peak District Day Hike or the Let's Get Muddy Bike Ride, you can email me or see me on Wednesday or Thursday to reserve your place.

See you all next week,
Spud

Up and Coming Events for Cubs & Scouts

Flight-Sim Night
Sat 24th Feb
Open to Scouts who have booked a place with Thornton
Bring your overnight gear
Meeting at Ardsley Headquarters
Times: check with Thornton (overnight Sat – Sun)

Cycle–o–Cross
Sun 25th Feb
Open to all Cubs and Scouts
Bring a bike that is in safe working order (ideally a mountain bike), old clothes, old shoes, and a cycle helmet that fits
Meeting at Silverwood Campsite
Times: 1230 for 1300 until around 1530

Peak District Day Hike
Sun 4th Mar
Open to all Scouts and now to ALLCubs too!
5 places available (3 remaining, 23/02/07) on first come first served basis – inform Spud
Bring hiking boots, warm clothes, and plenty of energy
Meeting point to be confirmed
Times: 0900 – 1600 (to be confirmed)

Let’s Get Muddy Bike Ride
Sat 10th Mar
Open to all Scouts and now Cubs too!
6 places available (3 remaining, 23/02/07) on first come first served basis – inform Spud
Bring a bike that is in safe working order (ideally a mountain bike), old clothes, old shoes, and a cycle helmet that fits
Meeting at Ardsley Headquarters
Times: 0930 – 1230

A chilly weekend away…

Our Scout Patrol Leaders and Assistant Patrol Leaders were tough enough to cope with a hike and camp under canvas in the snow this weekend.

They climbed Lose Hill from Edale, and learnt some navigation techniques, as well as what to do in an emergency. Plenty of snowballs were thrown, and some thought it was the most snow they had ever seen! Leading the hike was a great experience for me too, as I’ve recently passed a hill walking adventurous activities assessment… so more hikes for Cubs and Scouts to come soon!

Here’s a couple of pics to help you feel the cold (minus 17 with wind chill apparently!)

A wee break en route…

But the snow had all been blown away at the top!!

Centenary Tree

Beavers made a Centenary Tree this week with named handprints and other prints that named things that were important to them such as lesssons at school, games, tv etc so that in 2017 other Beavers can look at it and see what 2007 meant to us. We welcomed Cameron to the Group and said bye to James K who's moved up to Cubs. Lydia and Luke were invested into the Group.

Cubs played various games this week in an effort to keep warm in our very old building. We had a great time!

Next week it's Chinese New Year so our activities will be on that theme.

By the way, I've eaten my way through more eggs this week and now have enough shells for our cress heads.

Any old boots?

Does anyone have old or out-grown hiking boots kicking around? If so, we could use them to start a troop “boots library”.

Kids out-grow hiking boots so fast it’s difficult and expensive to keep up, yet they’re an essential bit of kit for any serious hiking. Feel free to bring along any that you no longer need… all donations gratefully received! If we get enough, we can lend them out for activities and camps on a first-come-first-served basis.

On a more specific note, does anyone have a pair of size 9 or 10 boots that one of our scouts could borrow for the weekend of 10th / 11th February? I’m sure he would look after them and return them all sparkly clean! If you can help, please email me to let me know. Thanks, Spud.

Congratulations Swimmers!

Congratulations to all those swimmers who earned a swimming badge on Wednesday! Particular congrats go to Zak, who completed everything for the highest level.

If you didn’t complete all the sections, don’t worry. Get a parent or swimming teacher to watch you. If you succeed, have them write and sign a short note stating what you’ve achieved. We can then get you your badges.

If you’re not sure what you have and haven’t done, see Spud and we’ll sort it out!

Remember, you can print off the badge requirements from the scoutbase website; and for levels 3, 4 and 5 you can read the rules governing swimming for Scouts (Rules 9.48 - 9.54) there too.

Latest news

Another busy week. Beavers made food faces and played Sharks with the parachute. Cubs had a night at the swimming pool working on the swimming badges which were awarded on Thursday. Then we had an action packed meeting full of scouting activities such as map reading, compass point pictures and knots along with lots of game. We welcomed Ella to Cubs and Samuel and Corey to Beavers. I've managed to save 14 egg shells all by myself - does anyone read this?????
Kim