Orienteering Challenge 2019

Our Sea Scouts once again did us proud at the West Wirral District Orienteering Challenge around Royden Park.

The 2018 Orienteering Challenge Event unfortunately had to be cancelled due to frozen ground, so for this year the date was moved to June, and although on the same weekend as our group camp, this didn’t stop our Sea Scouts from taking part. At the last event in 2017 Sea Scouts from 4th won the Junior Trophy and the Team Compass Trophy, so this year the 4th Heswall Sea Scouts had honors to defend without a paddle or sail in sight.

The challenge is a timed individual pairs line orienteering event with three categories and an overall troop trophy. points are awarded for each checkpoint completed and minutes under the 1 hour completion target, checkpoints missed and minutes over the hour incur penalties.

Categories:

Junior – Under 12 ½
Senior – Under 14 ½
Under 25 Combined – Maximum combined age of 25 years
Explorers – Under 18
Team event trophy – combined team scores of best two teams for each troop in each section, except Explorers

The weather had been torrential all week but on Friday the skies cleared and the sun shone, which is just as well as our leaders and parents where busy building Group Camp that day for +40 Beavers, Cubs and Scouts at the nearby country park.

In pairs our eight Sea Scout Teams were sent out at regular intervals to navigate the courses around Royden Park, with points awarded for sub 1 hour times the challenge was set.

When all +50 Scout and Explorers had finished they enjoyed a drink and a marshmallow or two on the grass whilst the District Team calculated the results.

The time had come, the results were in and the Scouts gathered in a huge circle whilst the expectant parents looked on. Jenny, ADC for West Wirral District (Scouts) announced the winners of the categories and presented the awards.