A is for America’s the jamboree combines the three North American nations, Canada, the US and Mexico.
B is for Baden Powell, initially starting scouting to give young boys more focus and meaning in life, the ideas of helping others for the development of our communities but also the development of our own skills remains strongly held today.
C is for country roads, the classic country song… but did you know at the time of writing John Denver (the singer) had never even been to West Virginia.
D is for dining and with over 12 food houses there’s plenty of choice from around the globe.
E is for environmental goals, there is a large emphasis on leave no trace and this is applied to every thing we do on camp. It’s an important step to avoiding harming the landscape and wild life around us.
F is for fears, with a range of activities designed to push you out of your comfort zone you could conquer any thing.
G is for girls, actually a new addition welcomed to US scouting, but don’t be fooled 40% of participants at the WSJ are girls.
H is for hot, with temperature is expected to reach over 35°C participants are often advised to drink 2 litres (a normal daily intake) in just one hour.
I is for Internet, WSJ participants experience full Internet coverage on camp allowing easy access to phone home post for friends and keep in touch with family.
J is for jamboree, the 24th world Scout jamboree specifically, starting in 1920 and being held on every continent (besides Antarctica) this is the first jamboree to have three joint hosts.
K is for kilometres, 60 squared to be exact. The site is about three times the size of Dunfermline… a unit of measurement which probably won’t catch on.
L is for a late nights, parties and night activities contribute and occur throughout the jamboree experience.
M is for meat, unlike uk camps all meat on American camps need to be precooked before coming on site to avoid causing illnesses through cooking.
N is for a new world. The jamboree’s motto is unlock a new world and focuses on making the world a better, kinder and more understanding place.
O for opening ceremony, first of a the night ceremonies that will see all the participants attend.
P is for participants, 45,000 14 to 17 year olds will congregate and the summit representing countries from across the world and teaching each other about cultures and traditions.
Q is for quests, challenging participants to show Learning or complete activities to further their understanding of international problems or sense of adventure.
R is for respect, this opportunity to witness such a melting pot of cultures requires accepting everyone and inclusion in every part of camp life.
S is for subcamp, 6 In total with one of them consisting entirely of IST. The subcamp is home at WSJ and with with all of the parties, countries and friends to be made there’s almost no reason to leave.
T is for trading, sharing is caring and with 152 countries swapping badges, kit and clothes, it’s a great way to embrace worldwide scouting.
U is for umbrella. Is it unlucky to put one up inside the tents? When it rains it rains hard, we hope that we’ll be blessed with sun for the rest of our time on camp.
V is for Vodka, something that will definitely not be on camp. To protect both scouts and leaders the WSJ is a dry camp and will not permit alcohol anywhere on site.
W is for world wide, with over 150 countries more are participating in the world scout jamboree than countries participated on the London 2012 olympics.
X is for X-rays, with such a large camp a dedicated on site medial service and hospital has been set up, but this is definitely one tent you don’t want to visit during your time at the WSJ
Y is for yo-na, the camp mascot, an American black bear named after the Cherokee word for bear
Z is for zipline, they are massive, reaching speeds of 50 mph… if only the queues went that fast.