Runners Up - Raft Race 2012

Raft Race 2012

Hi All,

On Saturday 30^th June we took part in the District raft race competition in Sutton Park, an event which we have won for the last 3 years running.
This year we entered another 2 rafts on the water, each of very different designs.
We held several additional training sessions prior to the event in order to get the teams up to speed with the knots, lashings and general construction.
Both of our teams got off to a good start and our raft design which came 1st last year was soon neck and neck with another Groups raft at the front of the pack. They managed to maintain this position for almost the entire course, almost! At around three quarters of the way round, the raft from the 7^th edged out in front. Our team paddled extremely hard to close the gap, but there was no way that the 7^th were going to be caught. In the end we settled for 2^nd place, beaten by a team who basically tied 6 giant inner tubes together. Not what we would call entering into the spirit of the competition!
Our second raft design had a much harder slog as they were a less experienced crew and their raft was severely affected by the strong winds & currents. They seemed to row a boat length forward only to be blown 3 boat lengths backwards by the wind! However they all put in 100% and although they were pushed home by the rescue boat, their dedication and effort did them proud and they managed to finish in 6^th place overall, not last or sunk!
I would therefore like to thank the following Scouts for taking part;

Jacob B, Lawrence, Simon, Vincent, Lauren, Nicola, Bradley, Harry, Byron, Daniel, Alex M & Josie & Pia

Many thanks also to all those parents who offered their support and helped make this a day to remember. I would especially like to thank our Group chairman, Ian, for helping to transport the equipment to site.

Please click on the image above to see more pictures of the event.

All the best,

Adam & Jason