AFTER almost two years locked up at home, Scouts have traded the couch for a tent and doona for sleeping bag and headed back outdoors for VicJam, the Victorian Jamboree.
One of the biggest youth events in the Southern Hemisphere in nearly two years, the Victorian Jamboree saw more than 4500 Scouts and leaders enjoy 11 days of non-stop action and nightly entertainment at Elmore, and 16 off-site bases around Victoria.
Seven Scouts from Lake Boga headed down the highway for the $5.5 million event, from December 29-January 8.
Hamish said he enjoyed the outdoor laser skirmish.
“At VicJam I learnt how to make a tin can sound like a racing car,” he said.
For Zoe, she enjoyed exploring the border town of Echuca, where she boarded a paddle steamer.
“I learnt how to be independent as we had to cook our own meals as a patrol,” she said.
Onsite action ranged from abseiling, rock climbing, caving, zip lines, bouldering, low ropes, ladders, clip and climb, horizontal bungee and knot skills to drones, robotics, and 3D printing, to amateur radio, microscope exploration and virtual reality experiences.
Off-site activities ranged from water skiing and caving, to mountain biking.
VicJam was logistical challenge to organise through two years of meetings on Zoom.
For example, feeding 4500 people was a $1.25 million food bill (including 1165kg of lettuce, 1.015kms of sausages, 2627 dozen eggs, 6442 loaves of bread and 23 different fruits and vegetables).
“VicJam is a fantastic opportunity for Scouts to build resilience and to grow as some of Victoria’s best future leaders,” deputy chief commissioner of youth Matt Ellis said.
“This is a key event for Scouts to reconnect with Scouting.
“VicJam is a great opportunity for our Scouts to challenge themselves to new things like rock climbing, water activities, caving and axe throwing.”
The state-based VicJam replaced the Australian Jamboree, AJ2022, also scheduled to be held at Elmore at the same time, was cancelled in 2021 due to COVID-19 uncertainty.
Despite COVID and Scouts being forced online, Scouts Victoria has enjoyed its 15th consecutive year of growth.
