WWG North VI Report

Weekend Wide Game North VI – November 2005
Joeymanji
19-20th November 2005, Cataract Scout Park

On the morning of the 19^th November, some 22 Patrols assembled to compete in WWGVI – the 6^th annual South Coast & Tablelands Weekend Wide Game, hosted by the Figtree Rover Crew. With 100 Scouts competing, this Game was the biggest in the event’s history; Scouts perhaps drawn by the promise of an unusual activity: the opportunity to hunt the most dangerous animal on Earth – Venturers.

Attendees were drawn from several regions, including Scouts, Venturers, Rovers and Leaders, with the following Groups represented:

• Balgownie
• Bateman’s Bay
• Belrose
• Bulli
• Figtree
• Jamberoo
• Kiama
• Korrahill
• Mt Kembla
• Mt St Thomas
• Queanbeyan
• West Wollongong

Running with an “African Adventures” theme, this year’s WWG saw Scouts assume the roles of wannabe adventurers, competing in the nation of Cataract’s First Annual Explorer’s Contest. The wilds of Cataract were theirs for the taking – only the law-enforcing Game Wardens were there to keep them in check.

But despite all the other elements, it was definitely the Venturers who provided the biggest drawcard. Playing the role of wildlife, they were set to follow migration trails throughout the wilderness, scoring points for each successful trip. The Scouts could either hunt them or “photograph” them – the latter involved identifying the colour/code combination each animal was tagged with (which attracted a small but steady cash flow), but the former involved the (illegal and lucrative) practise of hunting the animals down with water pistols.

As you can imagine, it was the hunting that was the most popular activity. It became a common sight to see one or more Venturers running through the Park, hotly pursued by several Patrols of Scouts – each attempting to be the first to “shoot” the target.

Several Rovers and Leaders also participated in the animal role, with one enterprising Rover (who shall remain unnamed) deciding it would be a good idea to climb a tree, remaining out of range of those below. Unfortunately for him, it didn’t take long for word to spread – and soon there were several squads of Explorers below, all waiting to hit the target. Fortunately for him, he got down before someone with a camera arrived…

Wardens attempted to keep the peace, searching any Patrols they found. Each Warden was an uncertainty to any Patrols thus encountered. Depending on random chance, they could meet anything from the “Dumb Warden” who would ignore contraband and offer safe escort, to “The Terminator” who would fine and arrest them regardless of what they were carrying.

Despite the popularity of hunting, the adventures offered by Cataract were not restricted to the animals. Lost treasures abounded, and the competition between those treasure hunting was intense. The Explorers were not only offered clues to the locations of King Solomon’s Mines and Lasseter’s Reef, but were also offered the opportunity to recover the lost Maltese Falcon, the lost Flight of the Phoenix, and even a bank safe that “fell off the back of a truck”.

The Explorers were aided and abetted in their mercenary endeavours by the inhabitants of the Native village. Stores here included a weapons dealer (who upgraded water pistols for a price), Fence (who bought treasure illegally), Shopkeeper and Animal Dealer – all of whom existed solely to provide a means for the Scouts to spend their hard-earned money. Other, more legitimate, services included the Government-provided Bank (who protected Scout’s money, and also offered loans to the bereft) and National Treasury, and the Wardens HQ and jail.

As night fell on the first day, the Explorers were told they were required to spend the night at the local Resort, where they were then told that space was at a premium. If they could not fit their team into the area allotted, they would be forced to purchase more space at an exorbitant price. Some attempts to succeed at this task were truly inspiring to behold.

During the second day, the activity of the Explorers increased in pace, as every advantage was sought. In fact, there were more successful treasure hunts in the last few hours of the Game than there were in the entire previous day.

When Game Time was finally over, the Patrols were gathered together and informed of a special twist – those who had acted legally the entire game would receive a special point bonus from a grateful Government; and those that had benefited from illegal activity had been sold out by their contacts, and would receive a penalty. Only one Patrol earned the bonus – one of the Patrols from West Wollongong.

Once Patrol Handicaps were applied, the overall winners were declared to be Figtree 1, led by Caley Walls. Coming a close second and third were Patrols 3 and 1 from Balgownie. All these teams received prizes purchased or donated from Great Outdoors in Warrawong.

Ignominious holders of the Wooden Spoon (The Road-kill Award) were Balgownie 2.

After all the animal migrations were tallied, the winner of the inaugural Venturer award was determined to be Craig Davis from 1^st Balgownie Venturers, followed closely by Tim Davies.

As always, the game could not have run without the outstanding support received from the local Venturer Units. To those that attended, our thanks for a job well done.

The booking has already been made for next year, and we hope to see you all then!

The final Scores stood as follows:

Andrew Clark
SC&T WWG Committee