Scouts Compete at Klondike Derby

Participation in the local Troop has doubled in the past year.

While participation in high school sports may be declining in Dayton, the local Boy Scouts are expe- riencing a renewed interest. The nine to 11 boys attend- ing Troop meetings is nearly double, compared to recent years.

The boys, half from Day- ton and half from Waits- burg, meet weekly to gain knowledge in a variety of merit badge categories and practice leadership, teamwork and survival skills. Their most recent adventure took place Saturday, when seven Scouts, along with Troopmaster Brian Houdak and parent chaperone Greg Abramson, loaded up at zero-dark-thirty and headed to Andie’s Prairie for the an- nual Klondike Derby.

The Klondike Derby is derived from days when gold prospectors in Alaska traveled by dogsled and camped out in winter weather. In the Boy Scout version of this competitive event, troops pull a homemade sled filled with supplies through a series of activity stations. The goal of the Derby is to teach Scouts critical thinking while allowing them to demonstrate survival skills, teamwork and Scout spirit.

“Preparation for a Derby begins two to three months in advance of the event when the boys begin practicing and honing the necessary skills,” explained Troop- master, Brian Houdak, who began attending Derbies as a young Scout. This is his 13th Klondike. In anticipation of the event, several of the boys attended a workshop last December where they craft- ed their own snowshoes. The wooden sled, utilizing an old pair of skis as runners, was built by the Troop seven years ago.

This year’s Derby in- cluded eight competitive events. Troops were award- ed “gold nuggets” for each event based on performance, leadership and teamwork. In First Aid, Scouts described how to rescue someone who had fallen in a snow-hole and demonstrated how to perform CPR. Plant Iden- tification required the boys to identify 18 plants in 15 minutes. In Knots/Lashings, the boys threw a rope over a pole and used a series of knots to raise and suspend a log.

The Stretcher Race challenged Scouts to build a stretcher using logs and a tarp. The patrol leader then rode on the stretcher and navigated his blindfolded patrol through a predeter- mined course. The Orien- teering event took place along a rope marked with tags numbered 1 through 20. Scouts started at one num- ber, and then followed com- pass directions until they returned to another number on the rope.

In the Log Saw, Scouts operated a two-man saw to sever a log as quickly as possible. The boys used their own supplies to quickly build a fire in Fire Start- ing. The final activity was a Canyon Traverse, but the Scouts ran out of time and were unable to compete in that challenge.

“This was another great year,” said Houdak. “The weather could not have been nicer and all the boys expressed they had a great time. The activities were challenging and put the boys to task testing their skills, and most of all, teamwork. All of the challenges require the boys to work together and depend on each other to be successful, not to mention that doing all these skills in five and a half feet of snow adds a different dimension to each task.”

Ambramson, who also attended last year’s Derby, commented positively on the Troop’s performance. “The boys did very well with their coordination, team- work and leadership. They performed much better than last year, even with all the new boys. They didn’t win any ribbons, but they came close.”

With a final count of 32 gold nugget,s the Troop was just shy of receiving an award. They look for- ward to next year when they anticipate placing. In the meantime, they’ll be busy planning their next campout.

Boys or parents interested in the Scouting program may contact Bill Warren at 382-4258 for information.

Note: Dena Wood’s sons are enthusiastic participants in the local Boy Scout Troop.