Mallow Scouts have quests for breakfast.
From Thursday to Sunday last, Scouts from all over the island of Ireland came together in the Showgrounds in Cork for the Phoenix Challenge which is the biggest Scouting competition in Ireland. In total, 85 patrols made up of 8 Scouts, each aged between 12 to 15 years old, took part. Between competitors and people staffing the event there were around 1,000 Scouts on site for the weekend. The theme for this year’s competition was the film ‘The Day After Tomorrow’, so Scouts were encouraged to think about the environment in the build-up to and during the weekend. Earlier in the year, each of the patrols had to qualify out of their own respective Scout counties to be allowed to attend. During the event, each patrol had to build their own site which would be home for the weekend. They had to take part in various challenges and tasks, do all their own cooking and cleaning, and keep a log book of the event. All of this while being assessed and scored on various scouting skills like camp craft, teamwork, leadership, and team spirit.
North Cork was represented by scouts from Mallow, Doneraile and Fermoy. To say that they did North Cork proud would be an understatement. Right from the start, all three patrols got stuck in and they never stopped working, smiling, laughing and having fun all weekend. All their hard work paid off when, at the closing ceremony, all three patrols were awarded the silver standard for their efforts, with Fermoy even picking up the Entrepreneur Award for the trade fair part of the weekend. The overall winners of the event were the 3/4/6 Louth Snow Patrol, so congratulations to them.
To all the Scouts who took part, a massive well done, you were fantastic. To all the Venture Scouts aged between 16 and 18 years old who helped staff the event, well done as the future of scouting is bright with fantastic young people like you giving back to your groups and communities. Finally, to all the adult scouters who staffed and organised the weekend, thank you and well done for a fantastic event which our young people will remember for years to come.