Written by Joshua Lee, Josh Goh, Bryan Quan, Edited by Kaden Teo and Chey Jedd
Throughout the first school semester, the Troop went through a series of 集合 related to camp development; to raise the camping standard of the Troop as well as to prepare us for the upcoming June Training Camp. This camp development module had many phases, each meant to build upon the previous to ensure the effective learning and understanding of the Scouts.
Knots Phase
We first began with knots; revising what we learnt last year and learning new ones respective to our syllabus for the Sec 2 and 3s, as well as being a simple warm-up to introduce scouting skills to the Sec 1s. Knotting would be the foundation of many of our upcoming projects, henceforth it was important to ensure that each Scout is well versed with the knots in their respective syllabus.
Basha Phase
Afterwards, it was basha training. For each 集合, the Ventures prepared different challenges for us to test our adaptability and forward-thinking. One that was very memorable to me was having to build 1 additional basha for the total number of Patrols there were. This one simple addition made a huge difference in how we planned and coordinate our manpower as the majority of Patrols did not have the manpower to spare.
Initially, we did not manage to accomplish this task as we underestimated it, sending Scouts to
build the final one only when the Patrol finished theirs, resulting in too many Scouts crowding one spot to build a basha with little time left. It was only through communication amongst the different Patrols and helping each other to accomplish the bashas did we overcame this challenge; this was achieved not through the teamwork of a Patrol, but the teamwork of the Troop.
Gadget Phase
Then we moved on to gadgets, where the Ventures first went through with us basic gadget design theories. Afterwards, different Patrols were given different gadget designs to construct; exposing us to a greater variety of gadgets typically found in camps and the diverse ways one can be built.
At the end of each 集合, we were made to reflect on the gadgets' design and how it impacts the gadgets' difficulty, functionality, durability, etc. It made me realise that each little change could make the gadget turn out differently; one additional bamboo for extra stability can lead to more knots and a heavier load to carry during camps.
Pioneering Phase
We ended the entire module off with pioneering, applying everything that we learnt from previous 集合 into it.
As stated before, knotting is the foundation which allowed us to build these structures and the quality of our knots ensured our safety and prevented us from wasting time retying loose ones. Teamwork and communication learnt during the basha 集合 helped us coordinate the construction of the structures amongst many small teams, where different sections were built concurrently and the timing to complete each section must be hit down to the seconds to ensure efficiency and smooth running of the activity. Gadget theory and construction tricks learnt previously could also be applied to pioneering albeit upscaled.
This camp development module was insightful and fruitful, not only training our skillsets but also allowing us to understand the significance of each skill and the connections between them as we progress. The Patrols would soon have the opportunity to test the skills they had developed when they compete with one another during the upcoming June Training Camp.