Voyageur Council Venturer Advisor’s Forum

Meeting Minutes for April 4, 2006

Scout’s Headquarters - National Boardroom

Final

 

 

 

OPE work Weekend:

Tim sent out email a week ago with various administrative instructions but will send it out again in mid April to refresh everyone.  He also sent out the accommodations so please review in view of the male/female and adult/youth configurations.  The work to be done is generally along the same broad range of tasks as in the past.

 

Tim also extended thanks to Dan Karwowski who refurbished the OPE tractor.

 

Fortune Aerial Experience:

Stu Majka from 1^st Wakefield wanted to bring this opportunity to the attention of the VAF.  The Fortune Aerial organization has signed joint indemnity agreements with Scouts Canada, i.e. Scout members can go up to the Aerial Adventure without having to sign a waiver for their group.  (Note that if you still go up there as a family, you still need to sign waivers as these are only for scout events). 

 

Yanna Moncion with the Aerial Adventure at Camp Fortune gave a presentation on the activities:  Yanna noted they would love Scouts to visit their location and for more information, please visit their website at http://www.campfortune.com/.  They are focusing this experience on Scouts, Venturers and Rovers, but they are open to all ages and abilities.  They are looking at doing a Scouts Canada open house for scout leaders, with a tentative date of Saturday, April 29^th which should be confirmed by the end of the week.

 

They are situated in the Gatineau Park.  It is a high ropes course, with zip lines, suspended gangways, etc.  The entire course takes 3 hours to complete and is divided into 5 different zones, 5 for adults and 2 for children.  With these age groups (for scouts and above) we would all be on the adult course.  Groups can do a small number of zones or the entire course.

 

Upon arrival, groups would get their equipment, e.g. harnesses, 2 lanyards, pulleys, gloves, etc.  As groups are ready and equipped, then they go to a briefing zone for an explanation on the use of the equipment and the rules of the course (10 to 15 mins), then they will get the participants up on the course.  The last 4 elements are the giant zip lines which are the thrill at the end of the adventure.  The courses end at the lodge where the groups started so there is no hiking back.

 

There is no camping per se close by but we may be able to work something out on the Camp Fortune location.  This is a very scout friendly organization, i.e. bring mountain bikes up and spend the whole day up there.  They are opening this year on May 6^th and closing on November 5^th.  However, with large groups, they can make special arrangements.

 

Winter Adventure:

The second adventure event got cancelled and Christiaan has some refunds for those groups.  Please contact him if you are due a refund.

 

Commonwealth Sunday:

Alan noted that again this year, not one Scout or Venturer or Rover was there.  There were only the guides and diplomats children that attended to carry the flags.  The ceremony did go very well however.

 

If anyone has any ideas why scouting youth are not showing up, please share with Alan Griffin.  Suggestions at the VAF were as follows:

• Get it out to the Scouters clubs starting in September to allow them to get it on their 3 year plans.
• Try approaching specific groups to buttonhole those people or groups who are interested and remind them when the event is scheduled.
• If the youth have to be driven by the parents, then this message needs to get to the parents.
• Messages sent out to leaders and website announcements are very passive.  We need to be more pro-active somehow.
• It was also thought to be a good idea to make it a one day event, not a two day event (rehearsal and service).  Have the youth come a couple of hours early to practice carrying the flags through the arches.  That way they are only coming downtown once on the weekend.

 

Camp Slush:

The weekend was a success; however they could not get to Fort Pine due to the roads.  The whole event took place in a building beside the closed biathlon training field.  About 40 attended.  It was 15 degrees in the afternoon so the pictures will show everyone in T-shirts and snow pants.  There was a big chili dinner on Saturday night followed by a dance.  For the chili dinners, every group brought their own and they set up a buffet of chili to allow every to taste everyone else’s contribution.  It was a bit of a competition and a lot of fun.

 

White Water Adventures:

Bill spoke to WWI and WWII.  There was a list circulating at the VAF to sign up for pre-training for the White Water Adventures.  It starts on April 30^th at 10:30 in the morning.  Mike Miller is on tap for safety at 10:30, and after lunch they will be on the water for a couple of hours.  Again, then lunch at OPE is $3.50.   Bring your own PDFs as there are not a lot of Adult ones.  This pre-training is a mandatory for those taking WWI for first time and for those who have not been on the water for while.  If it is not taken, then those less experienced slow the whole group down at the actual White Water event!

 

Side note: if anyone is interested, the have PDFs at Costco for $33 and they are also selling short wet suits.

 

WWI and II are slowly filling up.  The registration forms are at the back and on the website.  Quite a few have registered but not many paid yet so those that pay get first dibs.  The cutoff date is the next VAF meeting on May 2, 2006.

 

Steven spoke to WWIII.  It looks like this will fill up too and they were about ½ way there already so everyone is encouraged to get their registrations in sooner than later.  If your group or participants are not interested in solo, that’s ok too.  There are 3 ways to be certified, 1a and 1b is tandem or solo (or the other way around), and Orca 1 is certified for both.  If it is your intention to be only tandem, then let the outfitters know.

 

Tim also noted that there are still OPE canoes available if your groups want to rent them for any White Water event weekends.  There are 2 left for first weekend and 3 for the second.  Tim will bring them up to Ottawa at Scout Headquarters the weekend before WWI.  Again a reminder that the rental only includes the canoes, NOT the gear (Paddles, throw line, etc.) as those will be the responsibility of the groups to bring their own.

 

 

Climbing and Self Rescue Course:

Christiaan will provide a course on Saturday April 22, as per the request of one group.  However if your youth are also interested, let him know.  It will likely be at Homecliff rain or shine as they will not be doing a lot of climbing at this course per se.  Time to start will be about 8:30 in the morning.

 

Steven Smye’s group is going so there are already about 5 participants and Christiaan wants to keep this to only about 10 people or so to keep it manageable.  If you want to do something like this at another time, then let Christiaan know.  A little climbing experience would be good to know before you attend but Christiaan will play it by ear.  Christiaan is not sure yet if there is a fee but again if you are interested, contact him at cjburchell@yahoo.com in advance to confirm space and final location.

 

VRRRT:

Eric Hansen reminded the VAF that this weekend is the AGM but we only have 5 Rovers coming so far.  VRRRT got a list from the council office for contacts for all Rovers (found 16 Crews and 34 Companies) however there were only 8 responses this year.  Some groups were not running a Rover section this year.  VRRRT needs 5 different groups at the table (crews or companies) for a quorum. 

 

The problem then is to try and figure out what is going on between Venturers and Rovers, why they are losing so much of the youth and interest.  Eric noted that there are a lot of universities that have crews so we need to get that message out.  If you have any ideas as to why the youth is not catching on, please contact him or the VRRRT.  One concern noted is that registration system only records a member as a leader or a youth and will prioritize it on the leader record.  Therefore there are a lot of youth who are not recorded as such.  Also a lot of Venturers are there for the high adventure but it does not seem to carry on into Rovers.  Unless there is a crew in the neighborhood, then it is a daunting task to tell them about VRRRT.   Eric Hansen noted they are also trying to revamp the book.

 

 

Joint Council:

Last month the group did the Laser Quest overnight adventure.  They were divided into 2 groups and got to play a game every ½ hour.

 

The event planned for April is a movie tentatively at Silver City on the Sunday afternoon of April 30^th.  However the date may change as those who attend the OPE weekend could not come.  This event was subsequently cancelled due to event conflicts.  An informal movie night with friends was held the previous weekend but it will NOT be a JC event.  An email was sent to JC members to explain.

 

JC is also in the planning stage for the camp over the May long weekend.  There is lots of room at the camp.  For any information email Joint_Council@hotmail.com (That is Joint<underscore>Council).  Note, the links to the Joint Council website from both the Voyageur Council and VAF website work file.

 

RSVP:

Lauren spoke to confirm RSVP is still scheduled for May 7,8,9 at OPE.  There are quite a few people registered including 1 Girl Guide group.  They have 1 company so far for planning Sunday morning activities.  They also plan to have high ropes and low ropes, waterfront canoes, a dance and a campfire, and a chocolate fondue (will maintain a strawberry free pot this year).  They provide the chocolate, you provide the fruit.  If there are any other dietary restrictions, please let them know.

 

There is lots of room however the early bird registration is closed so it is now $20 per person.

 

Service Corps:

There have not been many activities over the last month.  The upcoming ones are Canada Day and CCE.  Note, these were supposed to be up on the website, but the password had expired so that has been remedied.  Within the next couple of weeks the registration forms will be on the site.  (The link also works from the council website).

 

There is some talk their assistance may be required for the Tulip Festival.  If so, Phil will pass an email to Jim for assistance on the Tulip Festival for lost children and maybe things like handing out pamphlets, brochures, etc.  Their next meeting is this Thursday for Lost Children at 7 pm.

 

 

Rideau Challenge Journey:

Rod Wilson noted that on the 2^nd weekend in May, the Rideau Challenge Journey will be taking place and there is a call on the Venturers to help with trail security and to man the checkpoints.  If anyone is interested in helping out, and want to be on the Rideau trail, then see Rod or contact him via scouter_rod@hotmail.com or look for information on the Council website.  This is for individuals or companies.  (Yes this is the Mother’s day weekend).

 

A full information kit has been provided at the end of these minutes as well.

 

Training:

Stewart spoke and noted they are proposing to offer a:

• Basic Canoe on June 10-11, 2006
• Boat Rescue Award the following weekend on June 17-18, 2006, and
• Boat Rescue Award on August 26-27, 2006

Trainers will use the same format as in previous years and be at Whispering Pines.  Venturers and Rovers are welcome to come along.

 

There will also be an All Section Basic Program and Delivery training at OPE on the last full weekend in April, i.e. April 21-23.  They will also have other skills as well.  If you have people who assist on a regular basis, they can come too.

 

Steward et al is recommending that the council provides an ADVANCED Senior Section Training at RoVent in the fall and is looking for interest.  This has several advantages:

• Advisors would have the opportunity for an advanced course (first one in five years).
• Advisors would not have to give up another weekend with their families as they would already be attending with their youth.
• It would be cost effective to run this training with another event already underway.

 

Steward is also interested in seeing if there is any appeal in having some training as part of VAF meetings or after VAF meetings.

 

Please let Stewart Ross or Jim Peverley know your thoughts.

 

Other Bits and Bites:

The VAF link on Voyageur Council website now works.

 

Although membership declining in Scouting overall, Venturer registration in Voyageur Council is rising due to all our efforts and with the help of a VAF to bring together ideas and events.

 

New registration forms are coming out for fall, and there will now be blanket permission forms for all level 1 and level 2 activities, i.e. less than 3 night outing.  So for most of the regular weekend camps and outings, this will cut back on the paperwork a lot.  There is also a new form for outdoor activities.

 

The Nepean all section camp in on the weekend of May 12-14.  The coordinators are looking for assistance.  Information can be found on the Nepean area website.

 

The VAF agreed that there was high value on the presentations that were done this year (e.g. camping equipment repairs, Coleman repairs, Winter hiking, GPS, etc.)  So now Jim is looking for more ideas!!   The May meeting is open and one of the items will be to see if there is a list of all the indemnified locations or events or activities that scouting groups can use and not have to worry about waivers.  Jim proposes that there be no presentation for June, but in September we will start with a climbing training presentation to get ready for Venclimb.  Other suggestions were the Y-Canoe Club coordinator, the RA Center or to ask MEC is they had any contacts of interest.

 

Next VAF meeting on May 2^nd, 2006.