FAQs

Have a ?Question? you don't see here?  Contact the web team at web@carletonscouting.ca

Commitment

• Can I commit or register my Beavers and Cubs in a single form submission?

  • No, we treat this as two separate events or programs being run in parallel, so your Beaver Colony should be committed separately from your Cub Pack. 

• What is Commitment? What are we committing to?

  • See the What is Commitment? page for more details.

• How is the waitlist managed?

  • Actively. We want to maximize the number of youth participants within our facility's capacity (the Carp Agricultural Society's fairgrounds and halls).

  • If your section occupies one of the top 2 slots of the waitlist, then we will ask your section to A) be prepared to open your youth registration on short notice, and B) have your section rep attend planning meetings, but with the option to not take on a role. As sections drop out, sections from the waitlist will be welcomed to register, and reps to take a role.  When registration closes in December, the Key Team will determine if and how many more sections can be accommodated, and have them conduct a short, late registration.

  • Waitlisted Cub Packs from Ottawa are reminded that the similar Polar Day is held in Ottawa in mid-February.  Contact for Polar Day is Brent Webster (webster dot brent at rogers dot com).  If you decide to attend Polar Day instead, please inform our Registrar.

Emergency Planning

• What do I put in my section's emergency plan?

  • Your section's emergency plan builds on the Event's emergency plan.  See the Emergency Plan page, which also includes a link to a sample section plan.(to be updated for 2024)

Arrivals/Departures

• Where do we arrive and depart?

  • After your section is registered, and well before the day of the event, each section will be assigned an entrance and parking lot, and supplied with parking instructions (either Red Square, Orange Circle, or Blue Diamond), to distribute to its participating members. (to be updated for 2024)

• How do we find our section?

  • Near each parking lot, the parking map will designate a Muster Area for your section to meet up.  For most lots, signs will be placed along the Muster Area for each section to designate where your section is to gather upon arrival, and for parents to pick up at the end of the day.  In other Muster Areas, participants must look for their Scouters.

• I have a youth who may need to arrive late / leave early due to other commitments, is that permitted?

  • Yes, if you have a Venturer or at least 4 Scouters planning to attend the event with your section. The Venturer or 2 Scouters can then be spared to escort the youth to or from the Agricultural Hall entrance, which is designated as the rendezvous point for late arrivals or early departures.

  • Parents picking up or dropping off during the event should use the Red Square parking lot.  

  • Parents picking up or dropping off during the event are not permitted into program areas during the event, and after parking should proceed to the Agricultural Hall to meet the escorting Venturer or Scouters.  See Event Map.

• What if I have a family that needs to has to pick up their child in an emergency during the event?

  • Please instruct them to park in the Agricultural Hall (Red Square) Parking Lot, then to proceed inside the Agricultural Hall and approach an event team member (wearing a vest).  The Event Team member will contact the Safety Coordinator to arrange for the child to be escorted to the Agricultural Hall to meet their parent.

Weather

• Will there be a warming station for cold youth?

  • Yes. We will have a warming fire outside and if necessary, access to a large heated building   See the Map & Services page.

• Will there be a safe place for my group to leave their bags/gear, or will we have to carry it around with us?

  • Personal bags/gear will need to be kept in your vehicle or with your section as you move through each station.  Note that vehicles may be located several hundred metres away from program areas. Sleds are an excellent way to transport gear.  However, food can be stored indoors, and can be brought by the adult checking the section in. See below under Food & Drink.

Food & Drink

• Who provides lunch?

  • Lunches are brought by the sections, or individually.  

• Do participants need to bring a mess kit or cutlery?

  • That depends upon the lunch your youth have selected for the day.  A mess kit or cutlery is not needed for the snack supplied by the event.

• Where can food be stored?

  • Each section will be assigned a location in the Agricultural Hall, a heated building, in which their food can be placed.  Coolers/Thermoses are recommended to maintain desired temperature, and keep your food out of the danger zone (4C to 60C), since it will be there for several hours.

• Can I bring a stove/kitchen to cook a hot lunch for my section (i.e. hot dogs)?

  • Yes.  Outdoor kitchens can be set up in a designated area.  Youth are not allowed to access any outdoor kitchens.  Hot drinks and food must be brought inside for serving.  Hot water may not be transported in open pots.  Hot drinks should be transported in large thermoses (e.g. 2gal, 5gal) rather than hot pots.  

• If a Scouter is working an outdoor kitchen, do they still count for ratio?

  • Yes.  You meet ratio as long as your Scouters are on the event site, even if they have temporary tasks away from your youth.  However, when Scouters are away, you must be able to maintain the Two Scouter Rule with your youth.

• Is potable water available?

  • Yes, in the Agricultural Hall washrooms and kitchen. See Map & Services for this and other services.

• Who provides hot drinks? 

  • Hot drinks should be brought individually in thermoses, or supplied by the section.  The sections can store large thermoses indoors (with their food), or take it with them in a sled.  A 5gal thermos typically is able to keep liquid warm for up to 8 hours.

  • In a hypothermia emergency, the event will have hot drinks available in the Agricultural Hall, where the First Aid Station is located.

• Who provides snacks? When?

  • The event will provide each section with a snack, which does not require a mess kit, and is consumed in the morning or afternoon (depending upon the section's individual schedule).

  • The snack is provided to the section upon check-in, in a bag.  It is to be consumed outside during the activity circuit, at the time of the section's choosing.  Indoor time and location is not provided for the snack.

  • Sections may choose to provide any additional snacks as desired.  Also, if you have adults or youth that you know may have a medical need for a snack, be sure to have something on hand.  It never hurts for a section to have an extra granola bar or thermos of warm drink for a winter outing.

• What is the provided snack?

  • Granola Bars; apples for youths with allergies  (to be confirmed for 2024)

• If our section doesn't bring hot drinks, and a youth can't get warm, what do we do? 

  • The event can supply a hot drink at the First Aid Station as part of any hypothermia emergency.

Waste

• Where do we dispose of compost, recycling and waste?

  • Per Scouts Canada's Event Standards, the event must aim for zero landfill.  To assist with this goal, all sections must arrive prepared to pack out everything they brought.  Waste and recycling receptacles are not provided by the event.  To reduce your section's landfill load, we recommend that it bring bags to separate into your home municipalities waste streams.

Activity Stations

• Do we need someone at our station all the time?

• • No. You can setup your station to be self-serve, but if you do, ensure that the instructions are clear and easily understood. Testing your activity with your section's youth - including the instructions - is expected good practice. 

  • Some stations, such as those involving lighting fires, sawing or other camp skill, will usually require someone attend the station.  This could be a Venturer, parent or Scouter. The attendant makes sure that the skill is understood and that the station's safety rules are followed.

Movement between activities and locations

• How many Scouters do we need with the youth? 

  • A minimum of 2 of the section's Scouters should be present when youth are dropped off by parents, similar to a section meeting.  When at or moving between stations, at least 2 Scouters should always be present with your section's youth.

• How many Scouters are recommended to attend with Colonies?

  • A ratio of at least 1:5 Scouters:Beavers is recommended, as this is a long-duration outdoor winter event, with moderate risk. Your Group Commissioner may require a higher ratio.

  • Ideally, at least 4 Scouters attend with your section. This allows 2 Scouters to escort Beavers to the bathroom, or the warming station, while 2 can remain with the section and continue enjoying activities. Sections with less than 4 Scouters are encouraged to use the event as a means to encourage more parents to become Scouters, thereby better addressing the safety other needs of the section. 

• Can we have older youth members (e.g. Scouts, Venturers) with our Beavers and Cubs?

  • Yes.  An older youth member can accompany your section to the event, provided they have previously met your section's youth, and are a currently registered member of Scouts Canada. If the older youth is a Youth Scouter, they count for ratio and the Two Scouter Rule.  Venturers may also contact the Registrar (kwfontaine@sympatico.ca) to participate as Offer-of-Service and attend as a member of the event team.

• What happens if a youth needs to use the bathroom during the activities?

  • If your youth are capable of proceeding to and from the bathroom, they may do so, with a buddy. If you have a senior youth attending with the section (e.g. a Venturer), who is not a Youth Scouter, they may accompany the youth to the bathroom instead of a buddy. Otherwise, you will need 2 Scouters to accompany the youth to the bathroom.  If your section (or 2 sections, when 2 sections are paired on a rotation) does not have 4 Scouters, the Activity Coordinators should be alerted to bring the escort team.  As the escort team is a limited resource, this is only to be used by sections with no other option. 

Activities

• Are the activities pre-determined? Are there lists of activities that are/can be run?

  • No, the activities are not pre-determined. See How to Contribute a Great Activity for tips, including an Activity Development Trail Card to help you and your youth bring the best game to the event. However, we do have a list of activity ideas for both Beavers and Cubs that you can use as a starting point, to get your youth's brainstorming going. Once you register your activity, if it is one of the activity ideas listed on the website, the Available label will be changed to Taken. If its a game not on the page we will add it and then indicate that it as Taken

• What should I consider when putting an activity together?

  • Remember that Scouting is small-team based.  Use lodges/lairs/patrols.

  • Keep it fun. Test it out on your youth and review it for improvements. 

  • Keep the time in mind, it needs to keep youth engaged for 20 minutes, which may require extra variations for 'faster' sections that 'slower' sections won't get to. 

  • There are more pointers found here: How to Contribute a Great Activity.  Try using the Activity Development Trail Card with your youth.

  • The maximum number of youth at each station will be known after registration closes.  Sections almost always have less than 25 youth.

• How do I know if an activity has already been chosen?

  • Check the activity ideas page (for Beavers, or for Cubs). Any activities that have already been selected will be marked as Taken