With the Scout group, we participate in camps which include allsections of the group twice a year. These being the Easter camp and the Summer Camp.

With the Easter camp, the camp focuses on various activities with the younger sections such as the Cub Scouts focusing on proficiency badges whilst the older Scouts work on group activities to strengthen their group and skills with activities such as a cross country hike. The Rovers and Venture Units during camp would look after the younger units along with managing vital components of the camp such as the kitchen tent and the storage tent. With Easter camp we have certain activities which do not occur during Summer camp, such as practicing marching for the yearly parade which all Scout groups in Malta partake in, and Easter Mass due to the close time to Easter. On the last day the Cub Scouts are at camp, the group holds a camp fire which parents attend where by the different units show stunts to entertain the group with everyone joining in for camp fire songs and a meal prepared for by the Unit. For the Troop section, Rafting is always the first mayor activity usually held around the 10th of February, representing the feast of St. Paul’s Shipwreck. This year because of exams it was held at a later date, on Saturday 29th February. After the November patrol re-shuffle, Rafting is the perfect opportunity for the Patrol Leaders and Assistant Patrol Leaders to take charge and learn their members strengths and weaknesses and build on them. Preparation for this activity starts weeks beforehand, with patrols deciding on the raft design and the amount of material used, and lectures given by the Leaders about how to correctly tie a barrel to the raft and other important knots and lashings to be used on the day. 

On Saturday, everyone was present at 9:00 am eager and ready to un-load the truck and start building their rafts. All five patrols were present, but unfortunately the Wolf patrol had the lowest attendance of all with just two members, but that did not stop them from taking part. Four of the five patrols opted for the ‘T’ design (or a variation of it), but the Hound patrol decided to be original and opted to do a ‘catamaran’. After about two hours of building, the rafts were done and were all lined up and the patrols were all eager to start the race. The Hound patrol however, had a design flaw and had to modify some knots before they got going, and therefore they left a couple of minutes after the others. The Tigers seized the lead at the start and kept it till the end, with the Bulls and Wolves close behind. The Hounds came fourth because of the troublesome start but made good progress during the race and did not end up to far behind. The Buffalo patrol did not manage to finish the course, with their raft dismantling itself half-way. After dismantling, the Troop did a beach clean-up, leaving Mistra Bay cleaner than we found it. After the logbooks had been handed in, the patrol that was given the Rafting trophy was the Tiger patrol, as they excelled in almost every aspect of the competition.

Rafting with the Troop is always a fun and engaging experience, and this year it was certainly no different. Despite the members returning on a very different raft than what they set out on, it was a very successful activity. As the first major activity of the year, with some more guidance the scouts show promise of yet another great year to come.