25TH Australian Scouts Jamboree (#AJ2019)

10,000 plus Scouts and support staff from around the globe disembarked and occupied Tailem Bend, an old railway town set atop the cliffs on the Murray River.

The mercury was tipped to top 40C for most of the week. The “Winds of Hades” picked up early each day to assess the intestinal fortitude of the many SSAA volunteers whom had come from as far as Perth and as wide as the ACT. A peek outside the marquee door revealed a long queue of eager kids aged 10.5-15 years old plus their leaders. An opportunity to fire 20 live rounds at resetting steel targets, and a 5-round group at a paper target which they keep for bragging rights, was at stake. A “Bang site” badge was the seen as the “Holy Grail” by individuals competing against their fellow troop mates. An award bestowed upon the top shot of the detail (about 3 troops = 18 shooters). These badges are real currency for Scout people that love to swap and collect. They are destined to be stitched on to their favourite sleeping bag/blanket.

The firearms safety instructors took their positions, tuning in to the initial safety brief delivered by the Range Captain. The Captain ran a tight ship because he is ultimately responsible for everyone’s safety!

The first batch of Scouts sitting patiently in the shade of the marquee have now also been inducted and sat their own Firearms Safety Brief.

The Scouts are then paired up individually to an instructor and under close watchful command of the range captain, move forward to the firing line. Range officers pace up and down the line keeping a close eye on things and assisting with opposite eye dominant shooters requiring ‘blinkers’ and the like. Everybody could feel the excitement and anticipation mixed with the hot, dry, dusty air.

Orders for, “Commence fire” was given and with a sharp crack, the first shots for Jamboree #AJ2019 snap down the range shortly thereafter manifesting in some very surprising and outstanding results.

We were very lucky to have such a diverse and experienced bunch of volunteers for the event. It really made for a very well-rounded team. We consisted of Olympic Gold Medallists, SA Police STAR Group Sniper Instructors, Ex-Army/Navy Officers & NCO’s, Mums and Dads, Scout Leaders, Business People and we even had a travelling Barber on hand, just in case of any manscaping emergencies.

Speaking of emergencies... there were none! We’re not too proud to boast, that an independent group getting around assessing all the activities for inclusion in the Jamboree #AJ2022 (Victoria in 2022) openly commended our small-bore (.22LR) shooting range as being “the most well organised and safest activity on site”. As you may well imagine, the sheer scale of 10,000 People (including international Scouts from all corners of the planet) all playing outdoors in those conditions, there were bound to be some injuries. Gladly, none of the broken ankles, wrists, skinned knees and elbows etc. happened at our activity! We did however patch up our fair share of broken kids wondering across from the BMX track but that’s another story.

By the end of the 9 solid days at the range we managed to remain all smiles and gave a quality introductory shooting experience to 2260 Scouts in 132 details. A mammoth effort and successful result for both the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia and Scouts Australia. We were very pleased to offer a ‘first time’ positive shooting experience to so many people, young and old.

Special thanks to Robert Nioa for suppling more than 65,000 .22LR ICI Standard Velocity rounds that went down range. It is duly noted that we did not have a single misfire and the ammunition grouped very well in our club rifles, despite the horrendous Aussie summer conditions.

Well done to all the volunteers that selflessly gave their time and energy to make this a safe and fun event. Time to start planning for AJ2022.



Regards,

James Reeves

Executive Officer SSAA (SA)