Every two years the excitement builds as we plan our trip to the Carlton District Camporee in British Columbia. This is no ordinary camporee. We leave the knot-tying relays and chariot races at home and head for the challenges of rock climbing and repelling on treacherous terrain, canoeing on a cold pristine lake, and building a raft from old inflated wine box liners. But the thing the Scouts look forward to the most, the reason our Scouts get so excited about the Canadian Camporee, the reason their willing to fork out $80.00 for a four day trek, the reason every Scout in the troop signs up for this trip, is, quite simply -
Girls!
Yep, Scouting in Canada is coed and the boys have taken notice. Our Scouts enjoy checking out the girls and even manage to pick up a girlfriend or two. Parents aren't too pleased about this when they receive that first international long distance phone bill, but what is money when it comes to true love?
The United States is one of the few countries that have not accepted girls into the Scouting program. Why we can't have male and female troops, or all-girl and all-boy patrols, or even just plain coed troops is a good question. But, if you really want to discuss how messed up Americans are when it comes to coed Scouting, head on over to usenet and the rec.scouting.usa news group.
Canada has been doing this coed thing for a while and it just isn't that big of a deal. At the camporee, each patrol camps in their own site (there isn't a troop campsite). Groups may be all-male, all-female, or a mix. If the group has both boys and girls, they just sleep in separate tents.
It may seem odd, but the leaders actually enjoy the rules in a coed program. You see, the Scouts (boys and girls) camp in an area separate from the adults. An adult is not allowed into the camping area without an escort of the opposite sex. The proper and acceptable way to request an escort is to stop by headquarters and shout "I NEED A WOMAN!" or "I NEED A MAN!" depending upon your needs. You can see how this opens up lots of possibilities for hilarity.
On the first day, after camp has been set up, everyone including the Scouts, are invited to a cracker barrel. But in Canada it isn't called a cracker barrel, instead, the late evening gathering for snacking on goodies and drinking hot chocolate is called a "mug up". Both Americans and Canadians have weird names for this event.
In Canada, the flag "break" is quite different from the more involved ceremony we have in the U.S.A. The Canadian flag will already be raised on the flagpole before people arrive at the parade grounds. An extra string is used with one end looped around the flag to keep it rolled up and the other dropping to the base of the flagpole. The flag ceremony consists of calling the crowd to "alert" and pulling on that extra string to unfurl the flag.
The Canadians joke about how long it takes us to raise and lower the American flag. We certainly do take longer as we need to tie and untie the flag to the rope on the flagpole and fold and unfold the flag. Little do they know that we actually shortened the ceremony by leaving out the bugler and some other stuff.
The Boy Scouts of America spend a lot of effort to instill respect for the American flag. It is safe to say that Canadian Scouts have a slightly different take on flag etiquette. You can never be sure what might be wrapped in the flag before the break. One year a bra came flying out. Definitely something an American remembers and talks about for years.
The campfire program begins with "Scout’s Own." From the name, you might think it was a time for a Scout to be by himself. You'd be close, but the ceremony is more closely related to a chapel service.
In 1997, the camp program introduced a dance after the campfire. Yep, a dance. A real dance with music blaring and a D.J. (You get to do things like that when you're a coed program). What a surprise this was for our troop members when we arrived in 1998.
Unfortunately, one all-girl patrol failed to arrange transportation to the camp. That, along with our troop being all male (no duh) meant the girls who made it to the camporee had a lot of choice for dance partners. Eventually the ten or so girls were surrounded by 40 or so boys all dancing (if you can call it dancing) in the field.
Everyone had a great time. Soda pop, glow sticks, and prizes for an assortment of contests were handed out during the dance.
After the camporee is over, our Canadian hosts head home and allow us to stay at the camp until our departure the next morning. Instead of just sitting around camp, the troop drives around the lake to Harrison Hot Springs for much needed showers and a relaxing swim in their pool.
The pool is very warm. The new boys always jump in like it is a normal swimming pool. Within minutes their strength is gone and the adults then get to enjoy a nice, leisurely soak.
Rachel has been on the front desk at Harrison Hot Springs for the last two times that the Scouts invaded the place. She remembered us this year -- you just can't forget a mob of 25 kids. She's very nice so be sure to say "hi" if you stop by and tell her Troop 340 is again headed her way in the year 2000.
Canadian Scouts are the best hosts in the world! These people are even nicer than the best camp staff you've met – and we're not kidding. They are patient and will bend over backwards to make the camporee a wonderful experience for all. So set your sites for the next Canadian Camporee in the year 2002. See you there!
Check out these related links: