Skills Training, 18 January

Hello Guides!

On 18 January, we had our first official 集合 after CCA Exhibitions! As the Year 1s would not join us until 15 February, the 集合s until then will be focusing on brushing up the Year 2s and 3s’ skills after the long rest! For this 集合, we had lash training, followed by a game of Running Man.

Lash Training

Here is the description of the activity:

The Year 2s and 3s will attempt to tie 5 consecutive tight square and diagonal lashes (must be unable to twist out the lash/no overlaps on the lash) within the time limit and their Patrol Leaders(PLs) will check their lashes. If they succeed, they will start building the baggage rack, flagpole and emergency shelter. If not, they will have to take out their lashes and continue trying. If any one of them is unable to tie any standard lashes within 15 minutes of the start of the activity, her PL will teach her how to tie the lash and ensure that she understands completely. Similarly, the Patrol Seconds(PSs) will oversee the building of the baggage racks and ensure that the whole structure is built to the standards. If there are any loose lashes, the PS will ask the Guide who tied the lash to retie that lash until it has reached the standards. Patrols who fail to finish building standard baggage racks, emergency shelters and/or flagpoles will perform a song with actions of their choice in front of the 团 at the end of this activity.

Reflection by Year 3s:

The lash training and the building of basic structures at the start of 集合 was useful and a good reminder that we not only have to perfect soft skills but must have solid hard skills as well. It also allowed us to reflect as a 团, especially the Year 2s, whose lashes were easily twisted out by the seniors. It was an awakening to how standards were dropping drastically in the current Year 2 batch and I hope that through this experience, we can all learn to improve ourselves.

For the first 集合 of the year, we started off with lash training and we had to tie three good square lashes and three good diagonal lashes consecutively. I think that to tie better, tighter lashes, I should 抽 and hold tension better. I think we could have done better with more sense of urgency. I feel that we could have tied our lashes faster and tighter so we would be able to build all the structures within the given time so we would not have to redo the lashes as that would be wasting time. We also need to 照顾好东西 more as the seniors managed to kap a lot of our stuff and also our manpower, which is very important when building structures. We were also not quite sure on how to build structures so we should go and recap on those.

For Friday's 集合, we did lash training. I feel like I learnt a lot through this activity, as to how to make my lashes better and tighter and of standard. My first lash was rather loose, but by the final lash, I had improved by a lot - my lashes were tighter, to begin with. Though we 过时-ed a lot and a lot of our items and manpower got kapped, I still feel that this was a good experience for me, and a great platform to improve my skills. After that, we played running man. It was rather intense and fun at the same time. I realised that I haven't been looking through the guides notes and trekking signs, since we had to decode them in this game. It was also rather interesting solving the riddles with my patrolmates. In general, I enjoyed myself in the game and learnt a lot from this 集合.

During 集合, we trained our lash-tying skills by each tying 5 standard square and diagonal lashes within the standard time, 3 minutes, which were then passed to our PLs who ensured they met expectations, such as tightness and not overlapping. However, we soon found it challenging as us Year Threes were not allowed to speak or communicate verbally with our Year Twos. Another difficulty we faced was taking good care of our logistics so as not to not get them kapped by seniors. This helped us to learn to 照顾好东西 and 照顾好人 and keep our logistics close to us and where we were working. As time was tight, we also had to 报时 as often as we could to make sure everyone was aware of how much time had passed and to increase our sense of urgency to work faster to complete it within the given time. As we had worked too slowly, we were unable to complete the tasks despite bring given time extensions. In the future, we will take note of 照顾好人/东西 and have a better sense of urgency and work quickly.

I feel that the lash training is quite useful as many of us have not done gadgeting for some time and thus our skills may have deteriorated. I appreciated this lash training session as I was given the chance to refresh my memory on how to build certain gadgets. It was also a chance for our seniors to give us feedback on areas for improvement so that we will be ready to welcome and teach our new Year 1s with higher standards.

Running Man

For this game, the Guides will be split into their patrols and given a piece of duct tape each. Once the game starts, the Guides will have to rip the masking tape of a member of the other patrols while ensuring that their masking tapes are not ripped. If their masking tape is ripped, they will have to sit out of the game unless they complete a forfeit of their choice. The patrol with the least people standing will perform a dance, Chek Chek Goleh, at the end of this activity.

Reflection by Year 3s:

The second part of 集合 was used to play running man. The play area was quite unsuitable as it had just rained and the ground was very but we had fun nonetheless. I think this game really encourages patrol bonding because we have to try our best to protect our patrolmates from others. It forces us to stick together and help one another when in need. However, one hindrance we faced along the way was the impracticality of the use of duct tape. Due to the running around, most of us were sweaty and as a result, the duct tape did not stick well to our shirt and ended up falling off, which caused quite a bit of frustration for some patrols. Despite all that, the purpose of the game was to teach us to take care and look after the well-being of one another. It showed that there is a higher chance of success if you stick together.

During the next running man activity, we played a game where we tried to tear off the masking tape tags on others’ shirts and ensure ours would not get torn off. We had a lot of fun working in our patrols to keep each other “safe” and trying to tear others’ masking tapes and we had learnt to look out for each other. We were also tested on our trekking signs from the guides notes as there were post its around GSL that would help us in scoring better in the game. Although my patrol was in last place and we had to dance chek chek goleh together in front of everyone, we were glad that we had fun and bonded during the game.

Reflection by a Year 3 on the overall 集合:
During our first 集合 last Friday, we had lash training and running man. For lash training, we were supposed to tie five consecutive square lashes and diagonal lashes before going on to build a baggage rack, emergency shelter and flag pole. Initially, I thought tying five tight diagonal and square lashes will be easy because I usually 抽 very tightly. However, in the end, most of my 木 were able to be twisted out even after I 重抽 or 重打. Therefore, I was a little frustrated and impatient because I wanted to get it done and over with to help my patrol with the structures. When building or tying lashes, I feel that I could have 照顾好东西 better as we had many gadget poles and even our flag pole kapped. When playing running man, Elizabeth and I were quite violent and rough and when we were attacked by P4 and P5, we fought rather harshly against them to prevent our duct tape from being removed. Overall, I found the game very fun but I feel that I should have been more aware of my own safety and that of others. Also I need to familiarise myself with my guides notes to answer the questions on the post its. As a whole, I had learned a lot from this 集合, firstly to have a greater sense of urgency in whatever we are doing, secondly, to improve in my hard skills and lastly, to be more aware of my surroundings for safety and to ensure our things are not kapped.

Hope that everyone had fun during this 集合!

Published by:

Hoong Yu Ning

50th Batch Secretary