help cub scouts attain their Cyclist Badge
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Dromara Cycling Club
help cub scouts attain their Cyclist Badge |
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| Saturday 12 April 2008 On Saturday 12 April three member of Dromara Cycling Club (Trevor, Paul and Martin) volunteered their time to help around 35 cub scouts from 5 cub scout packs attain their "cyclist" activity badge. 
The event was organised by David Bell, scout leader, and hosted at Gilnahirk Primary School on the outskirts of Belfast. The cub scouts were from: 3rd Belfast (St Brendan’s Parish, Sydenham), 4th Belfast (Knock Presbyterian), 10th Belfast (McMordie Scout Hall, Strandtown), 30th Belfast (Gilnahirk Presbyterian) and 99th Belfast (Belmont Presbyterian). The weather was cool and dry for the event which kicked off with a talk about bicycle safety, security and maintenance. The cub scouts were very receptive and willing to ask lots of questions. Afterwards, the bicycles that the cub scouts had brought along were inspected to make sure they were safe and suitable for the riders. The cub scouts were then split up into groups and were given a series of skills tests and fun events. Cub scout leaders from various brigades and East Belfast Scout Fellowship supported the Dromara club members in organising the cub scouts for the events. Event 1: Riders had to negotiate a series of traffic cones then come to a complete stop inside a small circle painted on the playground. They then had to go around the final cone, stop again in the circle then return to start through the cones again. Event 2: The riders had a longer line of cones to weave through and then had to complete two loops of the final cone before returning back through the cones to the start. Event 3 (timed event): The riders were presented with two tall traffic cones, the nearest of which had a small plastic ball sitting on top. The rider had to race towards the first cone. Lift the ball. Place it on the second cone. Circle a tree. Lift the ball again and place it back on the first cone. If the ball falls off the cone, the rider has to return to pick it up. This was an event that seems very straight forward for the scouts but was deceptively difficult to do at pace. The fastest rider was not necessarily the one who completed the event in the quickest time. Event 4 (timed event): The riders had to race towards the 'limbo bar', duck underneath, weave around the trees then sprint back to the finish line. This was a hotly fought round with many of the scouts getting equal times and having to decide the winner on re-runs with the 'limbo bar' at its lower setting. All in all a great day of cycling fun. Congratulations to all the cub scouts who seemed to have enjoyed the event immensely. Photos by Martin Grimley and David Bell |
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