Scouting Skills on Display at River Raft Race
A day on the water is always a fun time, but area Scouts not only had fun Saturday on the Hiwassee River, but got to show off their paddling skills on their handmade rafts, too.
Saturday afternoon was the 46th running of the Great Hiwassee River Raft Race, and while it was a smaller group of scouts participating this year, it was no less an exciting and enjoyable event.
Shannon Ward, Scoutmaster for Troop 1010 in Cleveland and race coordinator, explained the race is the culmination of a weekend for local Scouts and others from outside Cleveland.
She said this year there were several Scout troops from the Chattanooga area, and two from around Atlanta.
The Scouts stay at the Gee Creek Campground in Polk County, where they eventually put the finishing touches on their rafts, have them inspected, and then transported to Hiwassee Outfitters in Reliance.
The rafts are launched from that site, then continue down the Hiwassee River to the ramp at U.S. Highway 411.
“I think the biggest thing about the raft race is they take the skills that they learned in scouting and through Scouting adventures, and they actually put those skills to use,” Ward stated.
Those skills include lashing bamboo together in a way that it can be paddled. Then they put that raft on inner tubes, and then they are ready to be placed on the water.
“It's not only aquatic skills that they have to have, but also pioneering skills and engineering skills [to create the rafts],” Ward said.
Dave Briick of Troop 540 out of Marietta, Georgia, said they also have to have paddling skills, which they learn through practice.
“They have to decide who is going to go where on the raft, and how and when they are going to paddle,” Briick said. “If one paddles when another doesn’t, then they are just going to go around in a circle.”
Troop 540 and 675, also from the Atlanta area, were not strangers to the Hiwassee River, as this was the fifth time for Briick and his troop. They were also no strangers to the local Scouts.
“They come down for summer camp at Fort Adams every year, so we kind of have a relationship with them,” he said. “We share in Scout spirit.”
Each year, the Great Hiwassee River Raft Race has a theme for the Scouts which includes them dressing up as characters. One year, they were pirates, another year, one team dressed up like the rock band Kiss characters.
This year’s theme was Fright Night, and there were several teams that dressed the part.
Troop 1010 had two teams — one named Vampire69 that were dressed as hippies ready for the Woodstock Music and Art Fair [which occurred in August 1969] and the other characters from "Scooby-Doo."
The teams competed for paddles that they will then take back to their Scout headquarters and display them for all to see. The awards and paddles given out were for Scout Skills, Best Design, Best Overall, Fastest Time and Spirit Award.
The race was a little bittersweet for Ward, as it was the first race since the death of longtime Scoutmaster Dr. Cecil Stanbery, who actually passed away around the time of last year’s raft race. He had coordinated the race for several years, and Ward said she had learned so much from him.
It was also the last race for Troop 10 [boys] and Troop 1010 [girls], as the two will merge into one troop on Sept. 1, when the Boy Scouts of America become Scouting USA. These two troops will be the first in the Cherokee Area Council to merge following the decision by the national organization.
By ALLEN MINCEY
Banner Correspondent
Aug 26, 2024
