3,400 Scouts at first ever 'Big Weekend' Adventure

Over 3,400 Scouts converged on Southwell for the biggest event ever delivered by the county. The 'Notts Scouts BIG Weekend' was held at the Southwell Racecourse and was the first time the county had hosted such a large scale weekend event at a non-Scout-owned facility.  The large number of participants not only exceeded the organisers’ expectations but also temporarily increased the population of the town by 50%.

90 of the 128 Notts Scouts Groups took part in this massive activity weekend. The Notts Scouts BIG Weekend was created to enable as many Scouts from the county to celebrate the London2012 Olympics and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee together as possible.

Starting on Friday evening with an Olympic style opening ceremony, all 3,400 participants partied together in an open-air arena. There were hundreds of activities ranging from more traditional ones including crate-stacking, giant pioneering and raft-building, to more modern ones including geo-caching, laser-tag and water sphereing.  

Notts band 'Hard to Handle' and a Lady GaGa tribute band played on Saturday night, alongside discos and cinemas. Brand-new activities for the Scouts to try like a 'Craghoppers Challenge Course', ice-skating and a flight simulator also ran. The Scouts also attempted a Guinness World Record for the largest 'mass breakfast'.

CC, Matt Rooney, said, "We are so pleased to be able to provide such an amazing opportunity for our Scouts. Scouting is all about experiencing new and exciting activities, whilst making new friends and being outdoors. Following on from the huge success of our Chief Scouts Activity Day last November we wanted to really raise the bar and offer something even better! Scouting is a modern and exciting organisation and events like this show just how relevant we are to young people and adults alike."  

Speaking about the weather he added, “Being Scouts we are of course prepared for a whole host of scenarios. We have plenty of cover and the majority of activities will run in all weather. People join Scouting to have a great time outdoors with their friends, whatever the weather. We are sorry for the taffic delays in and around Southwell on Friday night.”

David Roberts, Managing Director of Southwell Racecourse said, "We are delighted to have had so many Scouts at Southwell Racecourse. It is a great honour for us to be associated with the Nottinghamshire Scouts and it looks like they have had a brilliant weekend here and made the most of all that the Southwell Racecourse has to offer."