Around 4000 Scouts have descended on the grounds of Mystery Creek Events Centre for the 23rd Aotearoa New Zealand Scout Jamboree.
Around 4000 Scouts have descended on the grounds of Mystery Creek Events Centre for the 23rd Aotearoa New Zealand Scout Jamboree.
After a four-year pause due to the Covid-19 pandemic, around 4000 Scouts have gathered this week in the Waikato for the 23rd Aotearoa New Zealand Scout Jamboree.
Over 1400 adult volunteers have collaborated to organise the Scout Jamboree for youths aged 11 to 14, who will be staying in tents on the grounds of the Mystery Creek Events Centre in Hamilton.
As a whole cohort of youngsters missed out on cancelled events in previous years, attendees will be joined by 218 older Scouts for the first time.
The 14- and 15-and-a-half-year-olds have been added into the mix, to give them an experience they otherwise would have lost out on.
Jamboree director and volunteer Laurence Fauatea said the events usually happen in a three-yearly rotation, but the pandemic put them on ice.
This meant that many Scouts aged out of the programme before they had a chance to experience the jamboree.
“These young people have missed out and we said as a movement that we wouldn’t leave any Scout behind, so we’ve brought in the category this year to cater to them because we don’t want them to miss out.
Water sports are among the activities on offer at the 23rd Aotearoa New Zealand Scout Jamboree in Hamilton.
“The last jamboree would’ve been last year, but Covid-19 changed it to four years, and now there’s more than 200 Scouts in that category that are ready for the camp.”
Fauatea also said diversity and inclusion form a significant part of what they promote for the nine-day jamboree.
“In New Zealand, we talk a lot about rugby, but we don’t always have things for other young people who [already] play rugby but also want to do Scouts, and there is nothing available for them.
“We cater for that and it’s out there for them.
“They get to experience things they’ve never been able to before such as diggers, they get to play with diggers and some guys are from the city and have never touched a digger before, and probably never will again.
“Scouts love getting together and sharing things they do, and they love trading badges [as] it’s our currency.
“They all have a badge if not three or four, and they trade it with other Scouts. They’re like budding entrepreneurs.”
Attending the event are 75 troops, made up of on average 36 Scouts and eight leaders at the camp. During the jamboree, they’ll participate in a range of activities including a mud bath and an adventure course.
Fauatea said the main purpose of the camp is to bring all Scouts together nationally so they get to experience a giant Scout camp, gain superior experience, and make some fun memories.
With a busy few days remaining, the nine-day New Zealand jamboree is well under way at the Mystery Creek Event Centre, Hamilton, concluding on January 7.
Malisha Kumar is a multimedia journalist based in Hamilton. She joined the Waikato Herald in 2023 after working for Radio 1XX in Whakatāne.
