TL;DR: The Jamboree was the most incredible experience of my life.
Three weeks ago, I boarded a flight from Heathrow to JFK and embarked on an adventure like no other, joining nearly 50,000 people from over 150 countries (including 4,500 from the UK), all with one thing in common: we’re all Scouts.
What is the Jamboree?
The World Scout Jamboree is a gathering of Scouts from across the world that takes place every 4 years — this year it was jointly hosted by the Boy Scouts of America, Scouts Canada and Asociación de Scouts de México. It’s a celebration of friendship, culture and adventure, and provides young people with opportunities to meet new people, try new things and learn new skills.
The Build-up
The UK Contingent Support Team (of which I was extremely lucky to play a small part) came together for six weekend-long meetings, starting in 2017, where we began to formulate plans for everything from kit (each young person and volunteer that attends is issued with a rucksack, holdall, water bottle and more), to travel (booking flights for 4,500 isn’t easy!), operations, insurance, communications, volunteer support, youth shaped (giving the decision-making to our young people), Big City Experiences (more on that later), Hosted Hospitality and much, much more. As a team of 60(ish), we were led by the core Contingent Management Team, and ultimately the Contingent Leader, Caroline Pearce.
I first met Caroline at our selection weekend (you had to apply to be part of the team — part of the selection process was a weekend of activities and interviews); she immediately struck me as the kind of person that doesn’t ‘just manage’ people; she leads by inspiring and empowering those around her to do the right thing.
As well as our Contingent Team Weekends, we held two weekend conferences for Unit Leaders (volunteers who were responsible for units comprising of 36 young people) and International Service Team (IST — volunteers who would be giving up their time and money to staff the Jamboree, doing everything from running activities to managing restaurants), culminating with All Adults Weekend at Gilwell Park in May 2019, where the atmosphere was electric and the excitement was palpable.
Alongside our prep as a Contingent Team, 100 Units, each with 36 young people and 4 Adults, were beginning their journeys too, with training weekends and activities.
It Begins!
On July 19, a large group of Contingent Team, including myself, set off from airports around the UK — all bound for New York. By this time, we already had a super advance party at the Jamboree site building our office and setting up equipment, as well as an Operations Team already in New York that could track every flight and every incident, from a grazed knee to a lost passport — they were on top of everything, 24/7.
Flying
I was utterly terrified of flying. Something about the thought of being chucked up in the air in a massive metal bird really didn’t appeal to me…
We arrived at the airport, I said my goodbyes, and proceeded through Check In, Security and to the gate. I was incredibly fortunate to be flying with a group of our Contingent Team that have an insane amount of air-miles between them — they took me under their wing (I make no apology for that pun) and explained everything that was happening at the airport so that I could understand what was going on. Turns out, ‘the unknown’ is a big factor in my anxiety. I’m also not going to pretend that the First Class Lounge didn’t help either (Thanks again Derek and Nigel!).
As we boarded, I confessed to the Senior Cabin Crew Director that I was absolutely terrified of this whole experience; next thing I knew, I was on the flight deck chatting to the Captain and First Officer, who, by coincidence, were also both called Tom. What’re the chances! Tom and Tom were quick to explain what all of the noises were, what I would feel and how we would make our ascent into the clouds, which really helped me. Towards the end of the flight, First Officer Tom came and found me (I was eating a Magnum in the Galley, don’t ask) to show me the Flight Plan for our descent into New York — he explained every turn, which noises I’d hear when, even the weather conditions, so that when we did come into land, I felt confident and safe — I can’t put into words how much they both helped me to overcome my fear.
New York
New York was a bit of a whirlwind — we arrived into JFK, went to Hofstra University, slept (albeit for a couple of hours), and headed straight back out, in my case to La Guardia Airport. Our first units were due to arrive! Over the course of 11 hours, we welcomed in 17 units of young people — the atmosphere was incredible, and the adrenaline had started pumping.
From La Guardia we went back to Hofstra, slept (again, only for a couple of hours), and headed back out, this time through Manhattan to Battery Park, where we were met by a bus to take us out to West Virginia University.
At this point, our units had arrived in New York and were exploring the city — it was our job to stay one step ahead!
One by one, our Units started to make their way from NYC to West Virginia University, where they were checked in to Halls of Residence, and went straight to bed (some units didn’t arrive until 2am!). It was at this point where I actually fell asleep on the stairs leading up to the Halls that I was meant to be manning… Thanks Andy and Michelle for waking me up and sending me to bed…
The next morning, we were up at the crack of dawn to dispatch more of our units, this time bound for the Summit Bechtel Reserve home of the 24th World Scout Jamboree! At this point, the Contingent Team jumped onto Unit Coaches — I was lucky enough to join an awesome Scottish Unit, who taught me all about Scottish Tradition (and slang)!
Arriving at the Jamboree
Jamboree arrivals were… Interesting. The weather was not on our side that day — it was dry up until we came within 5km of the site, which is when it started to pour…
Not to be phased by inclement weather, units arrived and began excitedly pitching their tents, helping out (and being helped by) some of their Jamboree neighbours from all over the world. The Jamboree had begun!
Meanwhile, our IST had been on site for a couple of days and were already accustomed to life at the Summit; it was great to see lots of familiar faces when we arrived.
The Summit
The site itself was mind-blowingly huge. To put it into perspective, walking from my tent on Subcamp Echo to the Summit Center (where the main arena and UK Office were situated) took around 40 minutes. Thankfully, the site had multiple bus routes for us to use!
A few facts about the site:
- The construction of the site was made possible by donations from both individuals and companies, including AT&T, CONSOL Energy and the Bechtel Corporation — the latter of which donated $50 million.
- The Jamboree hospital was so well equipped that they were capable of performing open heart surgery on site — and had 2 air ambulances.
- The Summit Bechtel Reserve spans over 14,000 acres — 57km sq.!
- It was so big that IST provided a Motor Pool service for dignitaries and Contingent Teams — complete with massive American pickup trucks!
- The Summit Stadium, sponsored by AT&T, was home to all ceremonies and has capacity for 80,000 people.
- AT&T provided site-wide gigabit WiFi (which was load balanced to ensure consistent service delivery) and 4G LTE.
- During the Jamboree, the Summit became the third largest city in West Virginia once everyone was on site.
Subcamp Life
Subcamps got their names from the NATO Phonetic Alphabet: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo and Foxtrot — with Echo being for Adults only.
Collectively, they could house up to 40,000 campers.
Getting out and about visiting Units was one of my favourite parts of the Jamboree experience; hearing about how Scouts had “popped out for dinner with Thailand”, “went over to Argentina to play football” and “saw the Americans for Brunch” brought a huge smile to my face.
For me, that’s what the Jamboree is about; the adventure and activities are awesome, but the people are what make it really special. Learning about different cultures (some even close to home!), food and even the way that people from across the world Scout was really fascinating.
Life on Echo
Life on Subcamp Echo was great! The Jamboree Team had taken a real focus on looking after volunteers — we had a chillout zone with sofas (called the Meet n’ Greet), a Rainbow Café (safe space for LGBT+ members), a multinational buffet-style restaurant (the Chat n’ Chew) and even a Finnish Sauna! It was great to be able to head there after a long day’s work and just chill with friends from across the world.
Adventure
The Jamboree wasn’t short of activities, either. The Summit was home to:
- The largest network of zip wires in the world, which allow people to reach speeds of over 50mph
- The second biggest man-made climbing wall on the planet
- The USA’s second largest skate park
- Kayaking, White Water Rafting, Shooting, Canopy Tours, Mountain Biking, BMX-ing, Scuba Diving and more
Oh, and the Summit has its own mountain. Yes, you read that correctly: a mountain. Mount Jack was home to the Spartan Race, Field Sports, Campfires and more.
The Greatest Show(s)
The Jamboree Ceremonies and Shows certainly did not disappoint; we were treated to:
- Drone Shows, where over 1000 drones were used to create giant artwork in the sky
- Lebo M — Singer of The Circle of Life from The Lion King
- Broadway Sings Disney (with actual Mary Poppins from actual Broadway)
- Pentatonix
- Light Balance (an LED Dance Troupe)
Hello, DC!
With the Jamboree closed, it was time for the next part of the UK Contingent adventure: Washington, DC! Nearly 4,500 of us piled onto coaches and made the 6 hour journey from West Virginia to the capital, where they had 2 days to explore the city and join together for two final big parties — one for our Participants and Unit Leaders, and one for our amazing IST!
So why do all this?
The Jamboree is more than just 10 days in a field, learning about culture and trying different activities. Both the young people and volunteers who made it happen will now go back to their respective homes, jobs and voluntary roles with more skills than ever before — skills like leadership, teamwork, confidence and resilience — skills that will open up new job opportunities, College/University places and so much more. So not only did nearly 50,000 people have the most incredible three week adventure full of fun and friendship, but we all went home with new skills and stories that’ll set us up for life too.
As part of the UK Contingent Team, it was an honour and privilege to have played a small part in the team that supported our 4,500 young people and volunteers; organising travel, pre-event and post-events (New York and Washington DC), Hosted Hospitality (where UK Scouts got to stay with Canadians), training volunteers and more.
