Arrowhead Klondike derby provides scouts with a contest in the cold

January 24, 2016 at 12:07a.m.

WARREN

With 20-degree temperatures and 10-degree wind-chill factors, no one would have wanted to be outside very long on Saturday – no one, that is, except more than 200 Boy Scouts roughing it all day in the annual Klondike Derby at Perkins Park.

“I love it,” said Josh Lang, 16, of Mineral Ridge as he psyched himself up for the competition. “You’ve got to be prepared for the cold,” he said, rephrasing the well-known Scouting oath about preparedness.

The Arrowhead District Klondike Derby brought the Trumbull County Scouts together for a test of skills in six activities at stations scattered throughout the park. Among the skills tested was generating fire by friction, but that task was not limited to the Scouts. Their adult Scout leaders decided

it would be good for them to do the same thing.

“This is our ‘stand by to keep warm event,’” joked Nick Katridis of Champion while huddling close to flames from wood that his Troop 4025 brought from Camp Stambaugh.

For another event, groups of four Scouts each used a large canvas as a catapult to fling tennis balls over a fence while Scouts on the other side had to catch them. The teams had to amass the most points, but to do it, they had to work together – and that was the point.

“This is all about teamwork, leadership and teaching Scouting skills,” said Jessica Sarich, Arrowhead District director.

Teamwork paid off for Michael Bryan, 15, of Bristolville. “We had 44 points,” he said as his Scout patrol from Mecca Troop 4557 finished first in their group in the tennis-ball toss. Other patrols would have to beat that total later in the day.

Scouts had to bring their own equipment, which they transported on large wooden sleds that they built before the competition. The teams trudged with their sleds across the park – perhaps the same way their ancestors slogged necessities nearly two centuries ago. On top of the sled for Mineral Ridge Troop 83 were two 26-gallon containers that stored everything from wood to food.

The materials came in handy as the Scouts had to build a fire and place a canvas packed with snow over the flames. The goal was to produce drinking water. Josh Lang wasn’t happy with the lack of fire intensity and crouched on the ground to blow onto the flames. “It needs oxygen,” he said.

Lang is in his third year of the National Youth Leadership Training Program conducted by the Scouts. “They teach us how to give presentations properly, like not putting your hands in your pockets,” he said. His hands stayed visible as he spoke despite the cold weather.

Jeffrey Jiang, 12, of Cortland, a member of Troop 143 of Niles, seemed the personification of leadership in the flagpole building event. Clad in a camouflage jacket with his head uncovered, Jiang became the de facto supervisor of his team. He carefully constructed knots to tie the wood pieces together for a large pole while making sure his teammates followed his lead. The knots had to be tied according to the Scouting manual.

“I can do knots in my sleep,” he said. Where did all of this confidence come from? “My father is a Scoutmaster,” he replied while staying focused on his knots.

Although the competition emphasizes leadership and Scouting skills, there is something more that keeps the Scouts coming back to battle the elements every January – the coldest month of the year. Paul Kuzmaul, assistant Scoutmaster of Warren Troop 101, knows what that is, and so do the Scouts.

“You’ve got to have fun,” he said.