Challenge Trophy Camporee location? The 15th CTC will be held at Camp Babcock Hovey, 7294 County Road 132, Ovid, NY.
Who attends the CTC? Everyone is welcome to attend the Challenge Trophy Camporee regardless of district, council, region or country of origin. We normally have at least 5 different BSA councils and Canadian Troops attend the CTC. Webelos II, Scouts & Venturers may attend for the weekend. Cubs, Webelos, Scouts, Ventures may attend on a day pass & participate in the program on Saturday. If you have never attended this event, please consider visiting us. Your scouting youth will thank you!
Subcamps - The subcamp are designed after Traditional Subcamps used at a Camporee near the Canadian / Michigan border since the 1950's - the Wadiscoca Fall Camporee. This was Scouterdoug's orginal home Camp / Camporee during the '90s where Volunteers ran the small annual Camporee that used 4 colors to identify Subcamps. Sadly, Camp Wadiscoca was closed in 2009. This Subcamp Tradition was continued when Scouterdoug relocated to NYS in late 1997 and held the 1st CTC 18 months later with 2 subcamps. In 2011 at the 13th CTC we grew to 12 subcamps identified by 12 colored flags.
What is the program?
The program of the CTC consists of Team Building Events, Educational Events, Fun events, Crafts, Displays, Campfire, Scout's Own, Demolition Drag Derby (3D), Subcamp Chariot Race, Camp Site Inspection, etc. In 2012 we offered 460 events on the Event Cards.
The Challenge Trophy Camporee is designed to be run by youth. The structure is based on subcamps and assigned event areas which breaks the entire camporee into manageable sections. Training is provided for the youth leadership team. The leadership team consists of Youth Camporee Chiefs, Subcamp Chiefs and Event Area Coordinators. The support youth staff is usually made up of younger scouts who wish to to be a leader at future CTCs. Adults are trained as advisors where they provide support if needed. The Camporee program was built slowly but consistantly "larger" over several years. We started with 50 events at the 1st CTC and by the 14th CTC (2012) we were over 460 events.
The Challenge Trophy Camporee (CTC) was started in 1999 with 2 Youth run Subcamps. The attending units competed for plaques and several had their Unit's number engraved on a brass plate which is attached to the original Challenge Trophy. The CTC quickly grew so big that the "Trophy" had to be retired. At the 14th CTC we plan to run 12 Youth Run Subcamps and we offer ~175 plaques to be awarded to attending units for scouting excellence. We also provide Program Patches - Teamwork, Outdoor & Nature Skills, Craft Patches, Educational Event patches, Chariot Race participant, Event Volunteer, Demolition Drag Derby, etc.
More history - Check out the website pages for the the past and future CTCs by clicking on the selections below. There is plenty of pictures to provide you with some idea of what we are all about.
A link is provided at the bottom for the complete Challege Trophy camporee "Patch Collection".
Do you wish to go to the "Demolition Drag Derby" Web Site? The link is at the bottom of this page.
Please note the positive comments we have received over past years regarding the CTC's of the past.
One of the most heard comments is that the patrols were not able to do all of events in a single day. That was the idea of the programming staff and we achieved that goal. We wanted to leave the scouts hungry for more!
We brought Webelos II to the Camporee. Some of the boy were undecided if they were going to join a Troop the next year. After attending the Challenge Trophy Camporee, they were excited and eager to join a Troop. Youth retention at its best!
Some scout's parents came to the camp at lunch time to pick up their youth for a baseball game in the afternoon on Saturday. The scoutmaster told me the scouts refused to leave the Challenge Trophy Camporee. They were having too great a time!!! This kind of feedback makes an ol' scouter smile.
Scoutmaster... Our youngest 11 old scout turned to me and had tears in his eyes. "I wish this wasn't over yet... I had SO much fun! Can we come again next year?" Yes I told him, "we will be there for sure" was the response.
A scoutmaster told us that he had 2 senior youth that signed up as staff. At lunch they told the rest of their troop how great it was to be on staff. After the positive report from the youth staff, every youth 13 and older wanted to sign up as staff right after lunch. This is a great example of how older scouts can be role model for the younger scouts.
Thanks for a great weekend. The program was superb! We'll be back next year.
We had a great time. We all thought the (Saturday evening) Chariot Races were a blast! Better than expected! Our boys will remember it not for cold rainy weather but for fun, food, challenge and excitement.
Otetiana Council Pack (Day Pass): Wow! You really opened our eyes to the scouting program (at the camporee). The entire pack had a fantastic time. I was surprised that the pack even had a lot of fun with the team work events. The entire program is excellent! We'll be back next year.
Five Rivers Council Troop: The boys had a great time. I was surprised to see almost everything being run by youth. This must take a lot of planning for this size of event. We would like to attend the Camporee next year.
Canadian Troop: Thanks again. I've put on and have been involved in some events and I have an idea what kind of trouble you and your group went through. I will be telling my scouting buddies about the Challenge Trophy Camporee.
Twin Rivers Council Troop: After the camporee, the feedback was extremely positive. The scouts were very impressed. They had such a good time they want to come back next year. It was phenomenal! The scoutmaster calls the CTC the "Disneyland" of Camporees. Congratulations on a successful camporee.
Greater Niagara Frontier Council Troop: We really enjoyed the Camporee. We'll be back next year.
