 | Annual game for any Troop |
| Patrol-competition |
| No preparation and no equipment |
The Scoutmaster starts this race, saying, "I noticed some of us, including myself, are somewhat careless about the Scout Handclasp, Sign and Salute. We talked about it at the last PLC Meeting, and we are now going to do something about it. Patrol Leaders, take your men to their corners, pair them off as buddies, practice a few minutes and then we'll have a relay race."
The Patrols practice for a few minutes.
The Race
The Patrol Leaders line up their men in relay fashion, one behind the other. Each Patrol performs eight absolutely correct Handclasps, Signs and Salutes. Obviously, in smaller Patrols some players will perform twice.
Each Patrol has an observer who stands at the other end of the room, opposite his Patrol, with his back to them.
At the word "Go" the Scout at the head of his Patrol runs to his observer and gives him the Scout Handclasp, Sign and Salute in that order, after which he stands at attention for an instant and then runs back to his Patrol and touches off the next player. This performance is repeated until one of the Patrols has eight perfect performances.
Each Patrol observer contributes to the excitement by calling out the score of his Patrol, thus: If the first Scout performs correctly he calls, "One"; if incorrect, he calls, "Zero," etc. The Patrol wins whose observer first calls, "Eight!"
Tips
To hasten the game, station the observer only a short distance away from his Patrol.
Be sure the observer stands with his back to the Patrol, so that the entire Patrol can see the performing players.
Follow up on the game, especially if the Troop is new. (1) Tell Scouts when and when not to salute their Scoutmaster; also when to give him the Handclasp; (2) Have a Patrol Leader tell when Scouts should salute a Patrol Leader; (3) Tell Scouts that when they come to the next Troop Meeting, they will find the Senior Patrol Leader stationed at the door. Those who salute him correctly enter the Pre-Opening game. Those who forget or fail will be given additional training by the SPL.
