Election Recap

From December until February, Boy Scout Troops within Lenape Chapter are contacted and given the opportunity to elect members to the Order of the Arrow. Those elected are eligible to take their ordeal at one of the three ordeal weekends offered by the Lodge. For 2011, 83% of Lenape Troops elected over 70 worthy youth and adults for the opportunity. In total, twelve chapter youth participated in elections all across the chapter. Thank you to the youth, Scoutmasters and candidates for their cooperation. This year’s election season was a huge success thanks to your efforts.

Klondike Derby Recap

The 2011 Lenape District Klondike Derby was held on January 29 at Ockanickon Scout Reservation. The Lenape Chapter OA programmed one of the towns with a general theme of team-building. Sleds were tested with three tasks, while managing their own time while working through the town. The station was staffed by our Chapter Adviser, Chapter Chief and several volunteer scouts from various troops. A special thank you to all units who provided scouts to help with the station in lieu of manning a sled for the troop. The support of the Chapter’s activities and programs is greatly appreciated.

This year, with over one foot of snow on the ground, the challenge of preparing the station was high. Thank you to the early participants for helping with snow removal and getting the fire started.

Each year, two tasks from the previous year are kept with a third added to keep the station fresh and the participants on their toes. The general purpose of the station is to practice scout skills in situations where their use is not necessarily expected. For example, many scouts are fully capable of lashing two staves or poles together, however they are not always exposed to the various manners in which these methods are used.

This year’s tasks:

Ravine Crossing - The patrol builds a device to suspend their sled over the creek bed located between Mohawk and Lenape sites at camp. Points are given for creative use of equipment on sled and for independence of the structure.

Spider’s Web - The patrol passes patrol members through a rope web suspended between two trees without touching the rope. Once one hole in the web is passed through completely, it cannot be used again. Points are awarded for team cohesiveness and creative thinking.

Knot Efficiency - This year’s new task. The patrol is giving a large amount of approximately one foot long ropes. In a given time frame (1:00 – 1:30 depending on the number of scouts in the patrol), they are to tie the ropes into a continuous rope using appropriate joining knots. This rope is then tested for strength and then timed for ease of untying. Points are awarded for knot selection (Positive points: Fisherman’s Knot, Carrick Bend. Base Points: Sheet Bend. Negative Points: Square Knot, Granny Knot), durability of the line and ease of untying the knots.

While no sled achieved a perfect score of 20/20, several scored in the 17-19 range. The average score for this year was 12/20, indicating the level of difficulty provided a sufficient challenged while maintaining fairness. Generally, sleds that were prepared and well-managed succeeded while sleds lacking in experience or motivation did poorly.

Photos from the day:

Appropriate Town Name

Rough Going at First

Digging Out - Quite a workout!

Ravine Crossing Preparation

A Common Solution