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Area Boy Scouts Gather In Township For Annual Aqua Camporee

Members of Boy Scout Troop 100 from Griggstown compete in the “fire on teh water” competition during the Aqua Camporee.


Three Boy Scout troops from Franklin Township joined scouts from around Central New Jersey June 16 at the 37th annual Away Camporee at Camp Oak Spring on Weston Road.

Scouts from Troop 113 sponsored by Somerset Presbyterian Church, Troop 154 sponsored by the Franklin Township Police PBA Local 154 and Troop 100 sponsored by the Griggstown Reformed Church were among those who participated in a number of scout skills competitions.

In total, more than 150 Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts took part in the event, said John Pigott of Troop 90 from Kendall Park. Troop 90 has sponsored the camporee for all of its 37 years, Pigott said.

“When the boys are between a scout and first class, they work on their scout skills,” he said. “This is basically a competition for scout skills.”

Among the events in which the scouts competed were swimming, boating, a fish fry, tying knots and, for the Cub Scouts, a scavenger hunt, Pigott said.

The scouts also showed off their first aid skills, said Eddie Reeves, the rising scoutmaster for Troop 113.

“It reinforces the skills that they’re learning,” he said. “If you have a cut, what do you do. Because we’re doing stuff with water, what’s a water rescue, how would you help somebody who inhaled water, partial drowning, stuff like that.”

There was also a competiton called “fire on the water,” Reeves said. That entails the scouts building fires on a platform that is floating on a body of water. Stretched across the fire area are three strands of rope at varying heights.

The higher the flame goes, burning the ropes, the more points the team gets.

There were two different knot competitions, Pigott said. In the first, Scouts were given a list of certain knots which they then had to tie and turn in for judging. The second, called “knots under water,” is as it’s name implies.

Here are some scenes from the day:

 

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