Gan Eng Seng Dragon Scout Group, celebrating its 85th Anniversary this year in 2007, participated in the above competition organised by the Singapore Scout Association.
The compeition venue was at Bishan Park 2, a huge open field, ideal for a competition of such a massive scale. Many cadet scouts, boy scouts and ventures participated in this event and there were lots of fun and enjoyment, not forgetting the sweat and tears.
The boys arrived earlier the night before, unloaded and guard the equipment. In the early morning on 10th February, the competition began ! I only went in the late afternoon when the Tower and Bridge projects were close to completion. The photos in the early morning and afternoon could be found in our Dragon Scout Group Homepage, do take a look at our photos too:
http://www.dragonscouts.com/gallery
The morning photos were taken by another old boys Jonning and Weiyang. The photographs taken by them complemented my set of photographs that I took from the late afternoon onwards.
Viewing the various projects built by other scout groups, it was a refreshing experience for me, since I had touched pioneering some years back. Some of the projects looked fanciful but impractical and questionable pioneering technqiues, especially in the Bridge competition. The Tower competition was similar. Doing a walkabout around the various projects, I felt that Dragon Scouts had the edge and strengths, especially in the Scout Tower category. Our Bridge maybe simple in design but it beats others in term of stability, practicality and fundamental pionnering techniques.
Soon, it was judgement time. The judges were walking around, inspecting all the various towers and bridges. As the Dragon Scouts were at the far end of the field, our works were the last to be inspected. Our wonderful Dragon Scouts were very patient especially the Tower team ! The Bridge team was inspected first and soon it became a playground, there were primary cadet scouts coming to our Bridge and wanted to walk across and play around. Being the Bigger Brother Scouts, we happily hosted them and let them had their fun. Not long after, our favourite Radin Mas Dragon Cub Scouts, arrived and like tradition, they started their own fun time at our Bridge.
I may not have done pioneering for a long time but it was fun to be up there with them, watching those young cubs enjoying themselves and our Dragon Scouts playing host as a Big Brother.
After the Tower Section was inspected, it was already dark. The Dragon Scouts started to dismantle their projects while the results were tabulated. In the midst of the darkness and commotion, there were a few incidents that happened to other schools and it caused quite a bit of hassle and inconveniences. The Dragon Scouts, well marshalled by GSL Hongliang, his young leaders and ventures, were role models for safety in doing pioneering projects.
Finally, the moment of truth. The results were out ..........
We were the Gold Winners in Scout Tower and Bridge category (3 winners each for Gold, Silver and Bronze) ! It was an awesome result and congrats to all Dragon Scouts. However, we also won the Scout Tower Challenge Trophy, that means Dragon Scouts Tower was the best among the best !
I couldn't hide my joy, enjoyment and I was very proud of their achievements. It was a pity I didn't take the photographs of our winning Challenge Shield. Nevertheless, there would be ample opportunities. The awards won added another huge collection to our massive collection and I am pretty sure they would be displayed in our upcoming 85th Anniversary Campfire. Do keep a lookout for updates.
Congrats to Dragon Scouts for an outstanding performance ! The Champions !
