Written by Ben D.
On July 19, 2023, four of our scouts went to the National Scout Jamboree. The National Scout Jamboree is a gathering of over 17,000 scouts from all over the country. It is held every four years at the Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia.
Scouts from different troops in the same council came together to form a Jamboree troop. The Jamboree troops met together for three months before the Jamboree. The troops also went on a campout to learn more about each other.
On the bus, the scouts enjoyed playing card games, eating lunch, and many other activities. When they finally got to the Summit Bechtel Reserve, they unpacked and set up camp. The next day they were free to do any activity they wanted.
One of our scouts enjoyed going fishing at the lake. Some of the species of fish in the lake include catfish, grass carp, bluegill, and many others. He caught four catfish.
Another thing the scouts enjoyed was archery. There were many different types of archery, including 3D archery, crossbows, 90-meter archery, and standard archery. The favorite of the four was crossbows. SBR is the only scouting reservation in the U.S.A where you can shoot a crossbow. The scouts shot many times.
A popular thing the scouts did was trade patches. They traded some of their council patches for other council patches from other states. They even set up patch trading posts around camp.
One last thing the scouts enjoyed was shooting sports. There were three types of shooting sports at the Jamboree, pistol, rifle, and shotgun. The favorite of the three was shotgun. The scouts shot clay discs, called clay pigeons. The goal was to shoot the clay pigeons and get a high score.
Other activities at the Jamboree included a water obstacle course, kayaking, BMX, mountain biking, skateboarding, ziplining, rock climbing, lots of merit badges, paintball, and pioneering courses.
After spending ten days doing all that and more, it was time to leave. We took down the tents, packed our bags, got back on the bus, and went home..
