The

VARSITY VISION

Newsletter

FOR VARSITY LEADERS

UTAH NATIONAL PARKS COUNCIL ™ ®

August 2008 “Give me liberty or give me death” ( Patrick Henry) Vol. 11 No. 8

VARSITY SCOUT PLEDGE * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * As a Varsity Scout I, will: live by the Scout Oath, Law, motto, and slogan; Honor the dignity and worth of all persons; Promote the cause of freedom; and do my best to be a good team member.

The Varsity Scout team can use the Freestyle Biking program feature to learn the basics of the sport. This program feature covers the BMX bike, safety equipment, construction of courses and ramps, freestyle tricks, and competition.

Freestyle biking has always been a popular activity for young people. Ride down any street in America and you will see all types of makeshift ramps. Made of boards and bricks, these ramps are used to jump into the air while riding a bike.

The sport began many years ago in Europe and was known as “artistic cycling.” A little more than 20 years ago an American youth revived the sport, somewhat as a fad.

Freestyle biking is defined as gymnastics on bicycles. The Varsity Scout team can enjoy learning the sport The rider uses tremendous balance and skill in performing and staging events for themselves and other teams interested in intricate maneuvers on level ground and on ramps. freestyle biking. August 2008 VARSITY VISION NEWSLETTER

FREESTYLE BIKING We challenge all Varsity Teams to fill their calendars with activities that are exciting, well planned and accomplished. At the SAFETY EQUIPMENT completion of events Scouts are awarded pins that recognize the accomplishments of the Team performance and leadership. Freestyle biking is a fun but a very potentially dangerous Internet registration is by activity. At no time should one of Council web site your Varsity Scouts practice or perform tricks without wearing full Great Salt Lake Council safety equipment, which consists of Boy Scouts of America full face helmet, elbow pads, knee 525 Foothill Blvd. pads, gloves, and high-top shoes. Salt Lake City, 84113-1199 Optional safety gear includes mouth (801) 582-3663 guard, shin guards, leathers www.saltlakescouts.org (padded pants), and chest and back protectors. Chairman – Theron Schaefermeyer Even when proper safety gear is worn, injuries are still Utah National Parks Council possible. A trick should never be attempted until the basic skills have Boy Scouts of America been mastered. Remember: professional freestylers have spent years 748 North 1340 West perfecting their techniques. They began with simpler tricks and Orem, UT 84057 progressed gradually to the spectacular high-flying stunts. You should (801) 437-6222 never attempt a trick for www.utahscouts.org which you are not properly trained and that Chairman - Bryce Swanson is beyond your abilities. Boys Scouts of America I took this 1200 East 5400 South information from the South Ogden, UT 84403 Program Feature book of (801) 479-5460 approved activities for the www.trappertrails.org Varsity Scout program.

HIGH ADVENTURE/SPORTS area of emphasis 2008 TRI-COUNCIL VARSITY CHALLENGE Now that summer is here we have a lot of Varsity Scouts heading into the backcountry of the High Uintas and other primitive areas. Last month we had a 14 year old Varsity Scout lost near Fox Lake on the High Line trail. He was eventually found in the Painter Basin area by another group of scouts from the Ogden area.

Due to the remoteness of the area it took leaders many hours to relay the message to the Search and Rescue people at Duchene. Even after the boy was found the next day the S&R didn’t find out for many hours.

I had a 14 year old Grandson on a 50 mile backpack hike from Butterfly Lake to (who knows where) at this same time. His Dad and I were deeply concerned about his safety. Information was slow to come On September 12-13, 2008, the three Utah BSA Councils, out. I kept a close eye on the comment board “blog” at KSL on this story Great Salt Lake Council, Utah National Parks and Trapper Trails will hoping for additional information from the public. gather for the 2008 Tri-Council Varsity Challenge to celebrate those 100 years of much like they did this past year in England. The general public was deeply concerned about the quality of the LDS Scout Leaders we have now and their inability to give proper This event invites Varsity Teams to participate in two days of training to the boys. There was blog after blog criticizing these Scout fun filled events with activities in each of the Five Fields of Emphasis. leaders for being lax on this important responsibility. Of course they are This will be the largest gathering of Varsity Scouts ever to come together right; the has the ultimate responsibility for the training and in one place to share their in a festival of Scouting activities. control of all his Varsity Scout youth. We encourage all Varsity Scouts, to join with us for these two eventful days. Come and see what the ‘gathering of the Orange’ means. More Several of the blog’s were quite interesting and were well adventure, personal growth, more leadership development, more fun! written. This first one was written by Michael B and reads:

The key to a successful Varsity Program is youth lead The Great Salt Lake Council has gone to great lengths to activities focused on in each of the fields of emphasis, Advancement, prevent these incidents from happening through awareness programs High Adventure/Sports, Personal Development, Service and Special and additional training. They have available ...free of charge...to troops Programs and Events. heading into the wilderness individual GPS transponders that help locate lost individuals. 2 August 2008 VARSITY VISION NEWSLETTER

That being said, there is no replacement for proper training. Not every leader trains their troop to the fullest extent but most train them adequately. Not every boy learns what they are being taught adequately District Calendar for Activities in 2008 but most do. The factor that is not talked enough about is that we have raised a generation that knows no respect to adults and leaders and Desert Survival of the Fittest September 19-20 many of the boys that go missing do so because they are running away pouting, ignoring the dangers. Turkey Shoot @ Battle Creek District October 25

I have seen this first hand where a boy with no discipline got Turkey Shoot @ Palmyra District November21-22 mad attempted to leave camp and walk home in the High Uintahs. I know for a fact this troop was trained and prepared but this still happened. Turkey Shoot @ Alpine District November 15

Do not be so quick to blame leaders of LDS troops. Common Turkey Shoot @ Cascade District October 25 sense, which seems to be depleted on this thread, says that it was probably a lot of little factors that lined up none of which was totally Mtn. Man Rendezvous @ Silver Lake Dist. September 26-27 negligent itself.

Turkey Shoot @ Silver Lake District November 7-8 With the number of boys that go camping each month and the number that successfully make it through high adventure camps each Sanpete Challenge @ Sanpete District September 13 year to have the few incidents as we do have is a resounding testament to the leaders and boys as a whole and their preparedness and skills. Golf Scramble @ Sanpete District October 1

Another comment written by MoabMike is responding to public Mtn. Man Rendezvous @ Hobble Creek District October 17-18 comments about a lost Scout using balloons and/or flare guns to get found. MoabMike had this to say: Turkey Shoot @ Cascade District October 25 ...but they're either not really going to help or they're going to make a problem worse. Balloons would be as hard to see as the missing boy. Looks good on paper but is poor in actual application. Giving Boy Turkey Shoot @ Mount Nebo District November 8 Scouts a flare gun is just inviting trouble. You might as well tell them to start a forest fire to help rescuers find them. The results would be the Turkey Shoot @ Cedar Breaks District November 8 same.

There are real solutions, however. One is called the Personal Turkey Shoot @ Provo District November 14-15 Locator Beacon (PLB). PLBs send a signal to a network of satellites. Basically it says "I'm lost, and here are my GPS coordinates." Not a bad Turkey Shoot @ Salt Creek District November 15 solution if you have $500 to $700 to spend on each unit for each boy. Of course in order for the PLB to work the boy will have to carry it with him all the time and then not activate it unless it's a real emergency. Good Turkey Shoot @ Virgin River District November 15 luck with that. Turkey Shoot @ Hobble Creek District November 22 The loud noise is the best idea you had. I carry an emergency whistle with me every time I go into the backcountry. They're relatively cheap, about $3 a piece, and they're seriously loud, as in plug your ears NOTE: Most Districts encourage Varsity Teams in neighboring Districts loud. I have one in every backpack that I regularly take outdoors (about to come and participate with them in their District activities. We five total). encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity. Call ahead of time to make arrangements, its fun for the boys and easy for their leaders. I decided to carry a whistle after I read a story about a man whose life was saved because he had one. He was skiing alone when he broke both of his legs. Unable to return to his car he spend two nights sleeping in tree bowls (the open space under a tree where the snow 2008 doesn't accumulate). On the third day he decided he'd better crawl his way back to civilization so he wouldn't die. That's when he heard a U.N.P.C. CALENDAR OF EVENTS snowmobile. It was a S&R member that was out looking for him. When the snowmobile's engine stopped (so the rescuer could listen) the man blew his whistle. The rescuer heard the noise and saved him. I bought a Leader Specific Training @ Orem Scout office 4th Saturday every whistle the next day. month North Star Training All year There is one thing we can't eliminate, and that's the fact that as Centennial Quality Unit Award All 2008 to 2010 long as people live young people will die untimely deaths. Whether it's Dates Aug-Sept out hunting, in the hospital from cancer, getting in a collision while riding in the back of mom's mini van, or getting lost on a scout trip; some boy, somewhere, some time will never see his next birthday. Of course we need to do everything we can to reduce that chance, but it will happen ***** Tri-Council Challenge Sept. 12-13 again. Yes, it's sad, but that fact is part of living on Earth. Beaver High Adventure Base June 23 to Aug 9 This missing Scout was found last month. The boy appeared Sanpete Challenge September to be in good shape other than being tired from a long walk and a long Delta Survival of the Fittest September night on the trail. It could have been much worse. We as Scout Leaders, need to do all we can to educate our youth for these situations.

3