29 September 2008
International Camporee
Posted by admin under: International .
I hadn’t heard about this neat event before, probably because I live in the other corner of the United States from where it’s held. Each year one of the Scout Areas in Canada and one of the Councils in America hold a joint Camporee.
The World Brotherhood Camporee is an annual event held every September with approximately 3,000 attendees. Each year the Loyalist Area, Scouts Canada and the Hiawatha Seaway Council, BSA take turns hosting this camporee. In even years, it’s held on the US side at Wellesley Island State Park (in the Thousand Islands across from Clayton, NY). In odd years it’s held in Canada at Riverside Cedar Provincial Park (near Morrisburg, ON). The program varies from camporee to camporee but the one big constant is badge trading. Proceeds from the camp help support projects of the Canadian Scout Brotherhood Fund.
Scout leaders and organizers are worried that the mandatory use of passports or enhanced identification cards to cross the Canadian border will lower attendance at the event, which is meant to bring scouts from the two countries together.
“It’s hard enough with the current gas crunch, and now this. It’ll make it harder to participate,” said Donald H. Loomis, who has helped plan the camporee since it started in 1974. “Scouting is supposed to be for everybody, not just rich kids.”
The cost of a U.S passport for those under 16 is $85, for those above 16 it is $100. The price for an enhanced non-driver identification card or an enhanced driver identification card is $30. Canadian passports are less expensive.
While the price for an enhanced identification card is far less than a passport, troops are self supporting and pay their way to the camporee through fundraising and donations. The extra cost for every scout and leader to have an enhanced ID could become a burden to the troop or the families of the scout.
Hm. I’m not sure how to help the guys out. When we realized how dangerous the world had become after September 11th we needed to get more control on our borders. Hopefully the Scouts on both sides will be able to get the necessary documents to enable them to have their event without hardship. Either way, I’m excited to hear about this really cool event. Now I’m wondering if there isn’t something we could do with the Mexican Boy Scouts at this end of the country. Congratulations to the two Scouting groups finding a way to get together and keep the tradition alive for 3 decades.
- Lose Scouts and Lose Your Charter
- BSA: How to Win at Camporee
- Going for the Green Got It
- Trading in Your Dad’s Old Camp
- Girl Scouts Supports Children of Military Families
One Comment so far...
Kevin Ryan ( AKA The Tomahawk Guy ) Says:
29 September 2008 at 5:57 pm.
Thanks for the Kind Words, I Work on both Committees ( US and Can ) for this camp and have been attending since 1977 ( Camp was started in 1974 ) I spoke with several of the US troops and they are currently looking at the lower cost Passport card ( allows for driving accross but no filghts) and are already including it in their fund raising activities in preperation for the next camp to be held in Canada. We currently have troops who regularly attend from as far south as Maryland and as far east as Nova Scotia.
