The second Waterford Scout County Challenge Weekend took place from the 17th to the 19th of June at Inistiogue in Co. Kilkenny. Troops rolled into the "Woodstock 2005" festival from about 7.00pm onwards and straight away most got stuck into getting their tents and some of their gadgets up. Not everybody had managed to locate "60's" gear for the weekend but there was certainly a few who had raided the old pair?s press and had dragged out some outrageous outfits.



There was also quite a few alternative neckerchiefs and quite a bit of camouflage gear to be seen. Scout Programme Coordinator Tom Casey did the official opening of the weekend and informed everybody of where things could be found and what to do if anything went terribly wrong. Later, the unplugged Battle of the Bands had some outstanding performances with Ferrybank definitely leading the way.



Everybody had a great night's sleep after all the campcraft - well of course that's a lie. 8.00am was the official rise and shine time but there were a few bodies up working on breakfast and gadgets from 7.00am - were they mad? Troops had to set up a sleeping and store tent, a dresser, a table and seating, an alter fire, a fire point and a recycling gadget. There was a good mix of designs to be seen and most troops managed to get just about everything up before 11.00am and the start of the "Return to Vietnam" bases and hike. The eight teams had to visit six bases including backwoods cooking, raft building, shelter building, first aid and blind mans trail, water purification and a weapons and traps base.



Many people got very wet, many fish were filleted, the spy satellites were thwarted time and time again, the troops were saved from water poisoning and some desperate injuries were treated. At each base, each team were also given a piece of a photograph which they had to piece together at the end to give them the location of their helicopter airlift. St. Paul's crack No. 2 platoon were the first to be successfully extracted from the war zone.



After the hike, the patrols headed back to the campsite to start the testmeal which included a main dinner and dessert cooked over an open fire. There was a few outstanding meals and just a few spuds that could have seen another few minutes on the fire but overall the meals went down well and by the time the cleanup was finished it was time for the campfire. Each patrol had to prepare a song and lead the campfire for a slot. Highlights included Sacred Heart's interesting composition about the County, Ferrybank singing The Yellow Submarine, the 7th De La Salle's medley that included Bohemian Rhapsody and the 3rd's resurrection of the Alien Chant.



We had a lie in until 8.30 on Sunday morning and after breakfast we started making the ballistas while a few worked on putting together their photo log of the weekend. Each troop had brought a digital camera and the photos were printed on Saturday evening. The ballistas were every shape and size but all had roughly the same design. St. Pauls had a trebuchet design that was definitely the best, although the best shot went to the 3rd with a well aimed water balloon shot on Caitriona Collins.



After the last shots were fired, the scouts own was held, with each patrol making a contribution. It concluded with "Knocking on Heaven's Door" led by TC but the Venturers were a bit slow off the mark in soaking everybody at the end - better luck next year! After a bit of lunch, troops had to start taking everything down and getting ready for the final inspection.



After his final inspection, TC gave the awards and results. First place went to the St. Pauls No. 1 Team with their No. 2 team in second place and Sacred Heart were third, Ferrybank fourth and the 7th De La Salle were in fifth place. The "Return to Vietnam" hike and bases was won by the St. Pauls No. 2 team, while St. Pauls No.1 took the campcraft, Dunhill won the cooking, the 7th De La Salle took the prize for the best photo log display and Stephen O'Rourke from the 3rd De La Salle was awarded Best PL of the competition.



Ferrybank took the Campfire and the Battle of the Bands prize while Sacred Heart No. 1 won the best dressed patrol award. The ballista was won by the St. Pauls No. 1 Team and Sacred Heart No. 2 won the 60's spirit award. The overall Regional Shield went to St, Pauls with Sacred Heart second and Ferrybank third. Tom thanked and congratulated everybody for taking part in the weekend with a special mention going to the Waterford Scout County Venturers for all their hard work and effort over the weekend.




Check out more photos of the event here