Tim vzS on being a Patrol Leader on camp

Troop camp was fun. Due to COVID this was my 2nd troop camp ever so going into it I didn’t exactly know what was going to happen and I expected it to run similarly to a scout competition like Gordon’s but just maybe be less harsh. I was relatively right with my guess.

Like Gordon’s we were split into our patrols of different ages and were each given a campsite. In our campsites we pitched our tents, which took as we had no clue how tents worked anymore, and the strong wind and Hawequas’s lovely rocky hard ground made for a rough time. Then we got to setting up our cooking table and all our kit and after a bit of going back and forth we started our gadgets, which consisted of a gateway and a dresser. Most of us only properly finished our campsites on day two or three of camp and little adjustments were made throughout the camp.

The camp mainly consisted of lots of swimming, volleyball and advancement here and there. Because of the heat I’m pretty sure the scouters took pity on us and allowed us to cool off in the dam. On one of the days we went to bum slide rock. Some scouts loved it and some scouts hated it but overall it was a fun experience. Volleyball was fun like always, and it was always funny seeing the scouters compete against the scouts. Alex had organised for us to do some alien hacks on two of the days which were rather fun even if we were cooked alive by the sun.

For my first time ever being a patrol leader, on not just a camp but ever, I think is was a rather successful experience.
I was very thankful for the patrol that Alex had given me. We worked well together and got along well. Being a patrol leader is hard, and takes a bit of experience. Even though I’m new to it I had fun and would love to do it again.

Running a patrol was hard at first but I got used to it, and I was glad my APL was who they were because they helped a lot. It was nice having the court of honour meetings because I could ask for help and advice on how to run my patrol better.

Camp was fun and am looking forward to next year; hopefully COVID is long gone by then.