The answer to the frequently asked question, ‘what makes Scouting different from other organisations?’ is, in two words, outdoor activities. We look for adventure, and we find it in the hills, the sea and the sky. Indeed, there is not much point in becoming a Venturer if you are not drawn by the prospect of adventure in the company of like-minded companions. In the open air you come face to face with situations in which your physical self is all important. It may be that rock climbing does not appeal to you but one of the great features of Venturing is that it allows its members to choose their own activities and this applies to outdoor as much as to the indoor activities. Again, there is no shortage of pursuits to choose from. If rock climbing is not for you, select photography or anything else you like.
The first person to consult is the Venturer Leader. He/she may have first hand information, know the right courses to look for or can point you in the right direction. Such courses are not usually expensive, but assistance can sometimes be obtained from your local VEC. The main organisations and governing bodies also arrange introductory course to their sports and arrange the kind of courses you will be Interested in. The number of clubs, organisations and societies which can help your Venturer Group towards a more adventurous outdoor life is very great indeed, and the more you look, the more you will find. If you want to do well in your chosen activities, you will need expert help from people who have trod the same path before you. Find the organisations which can help you, join and ask the experts for guidance. Without it, you will not get far, and without progress, you will not develop your enthusiasm.
Somewhere along the line, there has got to be some give and take. You are, after all, a member of a Venturer Group, and you have to build a programme that will entertain, satisfy and instruct all the members. So, if something on the outdoor programme does not appeal to you, orienteering perhaps, try not to turn up your nose and decide not to go that weekend. Take a more positive line. Show a real interest, or, at least, approach it with an open mind and you may very well find that orienteering begins to stir your imagination and creates the urge to find out more and take your interest further.
There is no need, of course, to follow a regular time-table in these activities, meeting, say, at a regular time once a fortnight. Instead, three hours orienteering might be followed two or three weeks later by a whole day of rock climbing on crags forty miles from home. A few weeks later, a weekend’s compass and mapping exercise with a night of lightweight camping can meet several purposes and make a worthwhile expedition in, itself. And, as a bonus, there is added variety. You must be thoroughly trained in all the activities you choose to do, whether they are simply for interest or steps towards an award. In a typical Unit and perhaps in your Group, there will not be people who are expert in everything. There may be a competent rock climber or canoeist, there may be a sub-aqua enthusiast or someone into archery but you will not have them all. If who want the right information and training find the
It must be faced that adventure involves risk. There is a greater danger from falling off a cliff than from a chair in the kitchen. But risks can be minimised by learning and respecting the appropriate safety precautions. They are drawn up for your benefit and ignoring them jeopardises not only your life, but the lives of those who would turn out selflessly to rescue you. To go on mountains in foul weather, badly equipped, unprepared for danger and ignorant about the safety rules is worse than stupid; it is selfish. So, the first thing to do when you have chosen your activity is to see if there is a safety code that governs it. Then get hold of the code, learn it until it is really familiar. That is an absolute priority.
Some activities are best suited to groups rather than individuals, The Executive Committee will programme them, for the whole Group to tackle and will see that they happen at fairly regular Intervals. Other pursuits are better suited to individuals or pairs and do not need numbers for success. In choosing your activities, be realistic as well as adventurous. As a Group, choose activities which everyone is interested in or, at least, prepared to try; choose things you can afford to do or for which you can find the resources. Activities which will not involve travelling long distances before they can be started are obviously more economical. Finally, make sure you can get expert advice.
Pleasing everybody
With the ideas to hand, the Committee will be able to put together a worthwhile forward-looking and adventurous programme of outdoor activity which will, over a four month period, involve everybody at some time or other.
Sooner or later, a determined Venturer Group and its Unit will overcome the initial lack of equipment. If rock climbing is wanted, rock climbing will be done. But it is one thing to be equipped; it is another vital consideration to be properly equipped. Obviously no one would go on a rock climb using a washing but the margin of safety is hazier if someone is wearing an anorak which is suspect in foul weather. Venturers should take a proud, professional interest in their equipment, making certain that it is the best, safest and most reliable for its purpose.
Group Activities
Planning a programme to take account of all individual tastes is far from easy. The enthusiasms of some are met with the yawns of boredom, The best way of catering for most of the Venturer Groups needs is to have a programme which has regular summer outdoor meetings for everybody and extra meetings for those with other interests, in that way, everyone will get a fair crack of the whip.
There is, of course, a way of pleasing everybody. Camps and expeditions contain just about every ingredient or appeal and nobody gets left out. But, here, we are concerned with outdoor activities in the ordinary programme setting. In deciding which outdoor pursuits to choose in, say, the autumn period, it will obviously need to find out from everybody what they would like to do. First, they will suggest a mixture of already popular activities. Next will come new ones which they would like to try and others will be chosen to help towards one of the awards.
But what do you do if everyone is keen on something that is both new and expensive to take up? If sub-aqua looks appealing, do you look at the price of wet-suits, multiply by the number of Venturers in the Group, shriek with alarm and then settle for a ten mile hike instead? It would be a poor look-out for Venturing if that was all you could do.
Venturer Forth
Outdoor Activities
right people and the right courses. How do they go about this?
It is, of course, vital that you have the right equipment for the activities of your choice. Every keen rock climber wants a good belt, climbing rope and rock boots, and he/she will get them somehow, no matter how great the effort needed or the price asked. Similarly, a Venturer whose imagination is captured by the white water of a swift river will, before long, start to build or save up for his/her own slalom canoe. But there is, as we all know, a limit to what each individual can afford and the time will come when the Venturer Group has to step in and acquire a selection of good quality outdoor equipment.
As an individual, you should select activities which appeal strongly and are likely to become long term hobbies. Again, make sure you can finance them somehow. Pursuits that you can tackle alone or with a small group can be followed up whenever the enthusiasts want to get on with them.
The Executive Committee should draw up a list of priorities, asking itself which activities the Group is most interested in. Most things that are done out of doors, necessitate some gear. It is a case of deciding what should be bought first and how is the money to be found?
Equipment There is a minimum list of equipment which any self-respecting Venturer Group should maintain. It will include good standard compasses, a wide range of Ordnance Survey maps, climbing ropes, every kind of modern camping equipment and tools like axes and saws. If the Group really specialises in canoeing or skiing, for example, it will build up its own fleet of canoes or a mountain-resort’s worth of skis, sticks and even boots.
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