NI Scouts bound for giant US jamboree in campsite that’s as big as Belfast

A group of Scouts from across the Province set off early this morning on the adventure of a lifetime to a world jamboree which their leader described as “Disneyland for Scouts”.
By The Newsroom
Published 20th Jul 2019, 09:00 BST
Unit 87 camped at Meggernie Adventure Centre last month in preparation for the World Scout JamboreeUnit 87 camped at Meggernie Adventure Centre last month in preparation for the World Scout Jamboree
Unit 87 camped at Meggernie Adventure Centre last month in preparation for the World Scout Jamboree

Phil Maxwell, leader of one of two 40-strong units of NI Scouts going to the World Scout Jamboree in West Virginia, said over 45,000 Scouts from across the world will be attending the jamboree in the Summit Bechtel Reserve.

The two units from Northern Ireland will join 98 other units from across the UK in what has been claimed to be the single largest movement of people for an individual cause since the outbreak of the war in Afghanistan.

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Unit 87, who call themselves ‘The Ulster Spuds’, began their journey at 4am this morning to Dublin Airport then on to New York.

Unit leader Phil Maxwell with his assistants Dave Orr, Adam Clements and deputy Bronagh McAuley. A statue of Scout founder Baden Powell is in the centre.Unit leader Phil Maxwell with his assistants Dave Orr, Adam Clements and deputy Bronagh McAuley. A statue of Scout founder Baden Powell is in the centre.
Unit leader Phil Maxwell with his assistants Dave Orr, Adam Clements and deputy Bronagh McAuley. A statue of Scout founder Baden Powell is in the centre.

Phil, 42, from First Carryduff Scouts, who leads Unit 87 along with Dave Orr from Bangor, Adam Clements from Cullybackey and deputy Bronagh McAuley from Antrim, said: “We’ll have 24 hours to explore New York then we have a 10-hour coach journey to the camp site where we’ll have 10 days on site.

“There’s so many activities for them on site. It’s like Disneyland for Scouts.

“There’s a jamboree app to guide you through the site to the various activities. You also have a little tracking band where you can check in at various activities, it can link to your social media profile and if you meet someone new you can exchange contact details by tapping the band.

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“It’s in the middle of the wilderness but the whole site is 5G enabled, it has 98% WiFi coverage. It’s the Boy Scouts of America’s national site – a multimillion pound site which is about the same size as Belfast. It’s the first jamboree ever that there’s three host countries – Mexico, America and Canada have worked together on it.

“There’s 45,000 campers expected and another 40,000 day visitors plus staff. You’re talking around 100,000 people on site every day.”

Phil commented: “The kids in both units are from all across the country – in ours we have young people from south Belfast, North Down, Lisknaskea, Aughnacloy, Tyrone and Limavady. They’ll be coming back with memories to look back on for a lifetime.”

After the jamboree the UK Scout contingent is heading to Washington DC where they will see a Major League Baseball game. Unit 87 then embark on an epic 14-hour journey to Quebec in Canada where they will stay with a local scout troop before it’s time to come home on August 9.

Related topics:ScoutsBelfastProvince