Achieving the Springbok Scout Award – Written by: Connor Nicholl

Hello there my name is Connor Nicholl. I am in IES Blouberg International School in Year 12 this year and a SRC member. Earlier this month, I achieved my Springbok Award as part of 1st Milnerton Sea scouts. It is the highest advancement level achievable being completed by a small fraction of scouts in South Africa.

What are scouts? 

You see me here talking about getting an award for Scout, but what even is that? Scouts is considered the biggest youth organization reaching over 57 million people and provides opportunities for young people to develop skills and become active citizens. Scouts are split up into different major age groups with plenty of badges and awards achievable.

There are 3 major age groups: Cubs, Scouts and Rovers. Cubs contain children from 7 to 11, Scouts contain children from 11 to 17 and Rovers contain young adults from 18 to 30. There are Meerkats as well for children from 5-6. Scout South Africa is split up into provinces, then districts which contain a group of troops These troops which I like to compare to schools have a unique uniform to identify where you do scouts. You are most likely to get identified by the colour scheme on your scarf which stands out the most in unique identification.

How long have I been doing Scouts? 

I have been doing Scouts for quite a while since 2014 and in that time, I have grown as a person and am not sure where I would be without scouts as it forms part of my identity. I did not do Meerkats as it is somewhat newly discovered with only a few years of history. I did however do Cubs from age 7-11 achieving my Leaping Wolf which is the highest award in Cubs. After Cubs I became a Scout which back then felt like mingling with giants, but they were very welcoming and I fell deeper in love with Scouting, finding sailing and obtaining badges through courses the most enjoyable. 

How do you get your Springbok Award in Scouting? 

So, in each age group you have different advancements which act as levels and get reset when you go into the next age group. These advancements contain a set of tasks to help you grow and are tailored to suit your journey. In Scouts earlier tasks involve bettering communication skills with others, learning morals and understanding basic scouting skills. The later advancements are more advanced making you learn how to lead others dealing with difficult and stressful situations as well as more complicated scouting skills. After completing all these tasks with at least 6 months left before turning 18 you can apply to do your Springbok Award. After getting the go ahead to attempt the award you must complete a set of advancements featuring major projects and activities involving in depth preparation. To get an idea of the kind of things I was required to do, one of the cool things was a 3-day expedition where I sailed on a Saldana (scout class dingy) with three other scouts. We had to have all our equipment with us; camping on multiple beaches at Theewaterskloof dam. We had to carry all our stuff with us and with the wind pumping, I was a little frightened of the possibility that we capsize and loose our stuff! It is hard to explain why this Award is hard to achieve to someone that does not really know about scouting, but the advancements are difficult and requires strong dedication and effective planning.

Why should everyone join the Scouting movement? 

The Scouting movement as mentioned before helps children grow and learn valuable skills that will help them reach their full potential. Leadership abilities, teamwork, self-motivation, commitment, perseverance, environmental and cultural awareness and strong values are just a few of the life skills you or your child can acquire whilst having fun and ‘learning by doing.’ Positive peer pressure and outdoor activities all contribute to individuals growing up with the belief that they can and are changing the world in order to leave it in a better place than they found it. Scouts learn a set of morals which we scouts live our lives with every day that come in the form of the Scout laws and promise.

If you have come this far then thank you for taking the time to read a little about my journey that has shaped me into the person I am today.