A Jamboree is a large Scout Camp held every three years at different sites in New Zealand and attended by around 4000 or more Scouts, Leaders and staff. It runs for a period of about 10 days, plus travel to and from the site. In effect, it’s a week-long Scout Camp extended by a couple of days, but with extra travel thrown in. Troops often take advantage of the travel to explore other parts of New Zealand.
The Jamboree is usually rotated around the three different sites, one in central or northern North Island, one in the lower North Island, and one in the South Island.
Most Scouts will only get one chance to attend a Jamboree as a Scout, but may return in three years’ time as a Venturer and serve as a member of the Venturer Staff Team (VST).
Why Attend?
Jamboree is one of those experiences where people who have attended make comments such as you had to be there to understand what it’s like
. People plan to attend for the fun programme, and afterwards realize that it’s mostly about friendship and teamwork.
The Jamboree is intended to achieve a number of aims in SCOUTS. The focus is on Scouts with Leaders and staff supporting them. We list some of them below so you can gain a broad understanding of the benefits of attending a Jamboree.
· A life-changing experience for our Scouts.
· Showcase everything that the Scout section has to offer.
· Scouts self-reliance and self-confidence increases hugely through being away from home for at least 10 days and often longer.
· Scouts learn to look after others by taking turns working as the duty patrol responsible for the cooking and cleaning for the rest of their troop at least once during the Jamboree.
· The Patrol focus allows more leadership and training opportunities not just for Patrol Leaders but all Scouts in the Patrol.
· Scouts meet many new Scouts and learn to interact with them freely and confidently.
· Scouts can meet Scouts from other countries and have the chance to share meals with them, providing opportunities for greater understanding of other cultures.
· Camping together for 10 days or longer creates friendships that often last a lifetime.
· Scouts learn that working hard at fundraising throughout the year brings rewards in terms of adventurous activities and many new friends gained at the Jamboree.
· Leaders make new friends and pick up on various techniques utilized by other Leaders (informal training) as well as having the pleasure of seeing the Scouts grow in stature and self-confidence day by day.
Are you eligible? Check out the eligibility here.
What we know: