On Friday, May 5th, Troop 580 entered the Klondike derby at Schiff Scout Reservation also known to us scouts and camp Wauwepex. We arrived on Friday night and everything seemed pleasant, but as usual with our presence came the rain. In the far distance we could hear the trees roaring. The new scouts turned to me and wondered what the sound was. Shortly after that, the rain came. The older scouts were accustomed to setting up camp in the rain, but for the new scouts this was a new experience. In spite of the fact that a lot of our gear was in a mud puddle mixed up with other troops gear we managed to get the job done.
Saturday started early with reveille and proceeded right into the day's activities. Each activity presented another challenge for the scouts. Our troop did very well in all the activities. By day's end, after Nick Bello calculated our score, we realized the judges had made a mathematical error in placing us 25th. Even though we entered the pavilion to receive prizes after 24 other troops went in, we all were happy with the prizes left for selection. These prizes included knives, collapsible shovels, and flashlights. They are all useful items.
Once back at our campsite, Nick, Gabriel and I decided to debate our score with the Head Camp Master, Mr. Sophia. He told us that his wife is an accountant and she rarely makes mistakes. But we had faith in Nicks accounting skills, so we went to see Mrs. Sophia. When she went over the scores, she found a judge had mistakenly entered a zero when he should have given us full credit. We moved from 25th place to 8th place. We were not quite satisfied yet. We felt the whole camp should know how well we did. So, in the morning, when we had all gathered once again, Mr. Sophia made the announcement about the judge's mistake. He announced our 8th place finish.
Overall, we all had a great time, and we are looking forward to next year's competition!