2013 Jamboree Troop A318

E.T.A.C. JAMBO TROOP A318

Volume 1, Issue 2 February 20, 2013 February 2013

Welcome to Troop 688, I mean Troop A318

National has recently informed us that our Troop designation will change to A318. We think that means we will be in Village A, by the Consol Energy Bridge near the entrance to Adventure Valley, but things are changing rapidly, so you never know. Our sister Troop is now D425 and the crew is numberless. As you might guess, the D designation locates them in village D. This is a radical change from the past, when troops from the same council camped near each other and Councils from the same region got grouped together. At the summit, troop location will be similar to the world jamboree and sister units will not be in the same area. That means we might have neighbors on one side from Oregon and other neighbors from Alabama and Vermont. It should be interesting. You might want to bring a Texas Language Translator.

Payment Information- Save $300

The cost for this event will be $2400, however if you stay current on payments and have your final payment made by April 1, 2013, your cost will be $2100. The final payment is due on June 1 if you have not stayed current. As of February 1, you should have paid $1800. If you have questions about your balance, contact the council office.

Youth Leadership: Senior Patrol Leader

The Senior Patrol Leader for Troop A318 will be Buddy Andersen. Buddy (and yes, that is his name) is a Life Scout with Troop 333 in Tyler, but he plans to have his Eagle completed very soon. He is a Sophomore at Bishop T.K. Gorman High School and he plays the baritone in the band. He plans to go to the University of Michigan. Buddy plays on the tennis team at Gorman and enjoys playing British bulldog in scouts. Buddy has been in Scouting since Cub Scouts. This past summer he went to Philmont to complete the Triple Crown of High Adventure Bases. The trip to the Northern Tier was his favorite trip. Visiting the Bechtel Summit this summer will give him the high adventure grand slam. He has staffed NYLT twice and plans to be the course leader at winter camp 2013. At the Jamboree, Buddy is looking forward to the rock climbing and white water rafting.

Other Youth Leadership Positions

If you are interested in another youth position (ASPL, Sribe, Quartermaster, Patrol Leader or APL) please send Matt Lindsey an email at [email protected] and express your interest.

Your Jamboree Adult Leadership Team

The adult leaders for Troop A318 are shown in the table below with current contact information.

Scoutmaster Matt Lindsey [email protected] 903-262-8043

Assistant 1 Anthony Munoz [email protected] 903-238-5244

Assistant 2 Kevin Cook [email protected] 903-472-9237

Assistant 3 Travis Tate [email protected] 936-645-6452

Important Dates

Between now and the Jamboree we are planning at least three additional events. On Sunday April 7th at 2 PM we are planning a Troop meeting. We are working on having the meeting on the Stephen F. Austin University Campus so we can complete the swim checks for our Troop. So, right now the plan is to meet in Nacogdoches at SFA, but it is still tentative.

Two shakedowns are on the schedule for the weekend of May 4th and June 8th. We are still working on the agenda for these events and let you know as the plans firm up and we see what additional items need to be covered.

It is possible, that once patrols are formed the patrol members might decide to meet to build patrol flags or discuss patrol organization.

Access your dashboard on the National Web Page before April 1, to select your curriculum events. (https://summit.scouting.org)

Health Form

Access the National Jamboree Web Page at https://summit.scouting.org and log in, then access your Dashboard to find your Medical Form. YOU MUST USE THE LINK IN YOUR DASHBOARD TO ACCESS YOUR FORM, not a generic BSA form. Please bring a copy to the Troop meeting or email to [email protected]

Keep Recruiting

A couple of spots are still available if you have a buddy that wants to go.

Featured Contingent Activity- Rafting

On the way to Jamboree our contingent’s first fun activity will be a river rafting trip on a scenic river, probably the Ocoee in Tennessee. We are still working on final arrangements, but this link shows a typical rafting adventure under consideration: http://www.cascadeoutdoors.com/ Tennessee's Ocoee River flows from the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and offers some of the finest whitewater in the world. The Ocoee River is the home of the whitewater slalom events in the 1996 summer Olympics so it’ll be sure to challenge you. This event is covered in your Jamboree fee with our contingent. Rafting is an optional activity at Jamboree with a surcharge of $50. Our river trip will be very similar to the one offered at the Summit. You can still sign up for the Jambo rafting trip, but you will have a great opportunity before we arrive.

Activities at the Jamboree- Curriculum vs Elective Events

Right now, you can go to the Jamboree Dashboard and sign up for a special Curriculum event. That will be your chance at an in depth training session and opportunity to participate in a great activity.

CURRICULUM High Adventure program elements offered in the High Adventure Areas and will be designed in 3-4 hour sessions. Each participant will be able to select ONE high adventure curriculum choice IN ADVANCE. We anticipate that there will be approximately 45,000 available curriculum “choices” for our approximately 30,000 youth participants. Therefore, most youth should get one of their top five curriculum choices.

ELECTIVE program activities are like those offered at recent past jamborees. The participant simply shows up at the program venue, gets in line, waits for some period of time and does the activity. The actual time spent doing the activity is relatively short – sometimes only a few minutes, perhaps 15 or 20 minutes on some activities. When complete, the participant either gets back in line for another turn or goes on to a different activity. At The Summit, there will be many different ELECTIVE activities in the various program venues. Participants will have plenty of unscheduled time (“free time”) to visit the various program areas and do those ELECTIVE activities which interest them.

CURRICULUM program activities are new for the jamboree model. Each participant will have the opportunity to experience ONE (1) CURRICULUM activity during the jamboree on a pre-scheduled basis. Staff conducting the CURRICULUM activities will employ the EDGE method wherever and whenever possible so that the participant not only has fun, but also increases their level of skill. CURRICULUM activities will vary in duration at each program venue, but will typically last at least two hours and some as much as four hours. When complete, the participant may stay at that program venue and participate in ELECTIVE activities.

OFFSITE OPTIONAL program activities are also new for the jamboree model. There will be two (2) of these activities available as part of The Summit 2013 National Jamboree – Whitewater Rafting on the New River and Technical Climbing in the New River Gorge. These will be provided by professional outfitters operating in the local area who have been contracted by the BSA to provide these activities. If a participant wants to participate in one of these activities, there will be an additional charge of $50 and the participant must meet all qualifications set by the professional outfitters. There will be a limited capacity in these activities. IMPORTANT NOTE: Choosing to participate in one of these OFFSITE OPTIONAL activities does not replace the one CURRICULUM activity choice. The participant will still be able to choose one onsite CURRICULUM activity.

LIST OF CURRICULUM ACTIVITIES

CANOPY TOUR CURRICULUM (AERIAL SPORTS)

THE ROCKS: CLIMBING SKILLS CURRICULUM (AERIAL SPORTS)

THE ROPES: CHALLENGE COURSE CURRICULUM (AERIAL SPORTS)

HIGH GEAR: MOUNTAIN BIKING SKILLS CURRICULUM (EXTREME SPORTS)

LOW GEAR: MOUNTAIN BIKING CURRICULUM (EXTREME SPORTS)

THE KAYAK LAKE: ADVANCED KAYAKING CURRICULUM (AQUATICS)

WEST LAKE: MARINERS ADVENTURE CURRICULUM (AQUATICS)

THE PARK: SKATEBOARD CURRICULUM (EXTREME SPORTS)

THE TRAX: BMX CURRICULUM (EXTREME SPORTS)

THE BOWS: ARCHERY CURRICULUM (TARGET SPORTS)

THE BARRELS: SHOOTING SPORTS CURRICULUM (TARGET SPORTS)

FISHING LAKE: FLY FISHING CURRICULUM (CONSERVATION)

DUTCH OVEN CURRICULUM (CONSERVATION)

GENERAL SITE: GEOCACHING CURRICULUM (CONSERVATION)

ORIENTEERING – MAP/COMPASS CURRICULUM (CONSERVATION)

ORIENTEERING – GPS CURRICULUM (CONSERVATION)

BIRDWATCHING CURRICULUM (CONSERVATION)

NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY CURRICULUM (CONSERVATION)

CONSERVATION TREK CURRICULUM (CONSERVATION)

GEOLOGY HIKE CURRICULUM (CONSERVATION)

LANDSCAPE PAINTING CURRICULUM (CONSERVATION)

OFFSITE OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES

WHITEWATER RAFTING ON NEW RIVER - $50 ADDITIONAL FEE

TECHNICAL CLIMBING IN NEW RIVER GORGE - $50 ADDITIONAL FEE

ULTRALIGHT CAMP CHAIR

You might want to consider this chair for Jambo. It might be nice to have, but generally chairs are not allowed at many events, like the arena shows, but it might be nice to have outside your tent.

DESIGNED FOR JAMBOREE 2013

PACK WEIGHT—2 LBS.

LOAD RATING—300 LBS.

PACK SIZE—14”x4”x5”

THE ETAC SCOUT SHOP IS TAKING ORDERS NOW FOR THESE CHAIRS TO ARRIVE IN TIME FOR JAMBOREE

RETAIL COST IS $59.99

RESERVE YOURS TODAY!

Fax orders can be sent to 903-597-0141 Email orders can be sent by clicking here for Suzanne.

Communications

If you need to change an email address please email me at [email protected] .

You can consult our the Troop A318 Web Page by following this link. It will always have the current information for our trip. The actual address for the web page is www.troop1525.org and has information from the 2010 Jamboree and other high adventure trips. Just click on the Jambo 2013 Troop A318 link in the header. You can join the site and will be able to post pictures to the Photo Gallery as well.

Gear and Clothing Labels- Highly Recommended

If you need great labels for your gear and clothing I recommend Name Bubbles. Go to our troop web page at http://troop1525.webs.com/ and then follow the link under “Equipment Labels”. I use the camp labels under value pack on the Name Bubbles page. You can include name, our unit number and a phone number on most of the labels. I have heavy use stuff with labels on them for over 3 years. (If you access it from our page, we get a small reward.)