Victorian Venturer Council - Scouts Victoria

Victorian Venturer
                                                        Council
                                                        Term 1 2021 Newsletter

                  Welcome back to Venturing in 2021. After some fabulous activities and
                  COVID-busting concepts in 2020, we hope to see many Units OUT and
                                ABOUT at activities and events in 2021.
                                Find us: www.vicventurers.com.au
                                Contact us: support@vicventurers.com.au
                                Facebook: facebook.com/VenturersVictoria

Anything Goes (AG) 2021
Registrations are now opened for AG on February 26-28
at Lardner Park, Warragul - https://signup.anythinggoes.net.au/
Come and visit the Venturers Victoria pop-up tent at AG to find out the latest.

2021 Venturer Calendar | Website Courses
Our 2021 Venturer Calendar is now on the website (download as a pdf) with all major events, activities and
courses for assisting your Unit Council to plan for 2021.
Details at: https://scoutsvictoria.com.au/age-sections-adults/venturers/victorian-venturers-2021-latest-
news/venturing-in-2021/

Venturer Youth Training Courses 2021
Unit Management Courses and Leadership Courses are now open for registration. We are offering some online
courses in 2021 for those Venturers who have difficulty travelling long distances.
Other courses and visits (Ideal, Environment, etc) are also listed.
For those Units now working under Our Program, Unit Management can be used as a Special Interest Area and
Leadership as part of Milestone 3 towards the Peak Award.
Further details: https://scoutsvictoria.com.au/age-sections-adults/venturers/courses-and-visits/

Government House 2021 – Saturday 13th February
                    Queen’s Scout nominations processed before the 30th November will have
                    received notification and been sent an invitation from Government House.
                    Make sure you confirm you are attending by 1st February 2021.
                    Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we were only able to invite recipients, parents
                    and a small number of support staff. The event will be Livestreamed and the
                    link available on the Scouts Victoria website the week before the presentation
                    and can be viewed by all Leaders and wider family groups.

National Survival School – Easter 2021
Running in Western Victoria April 2-5 for Venturers 15+ years and Rovers.
More details and registration: https://scoutsvictoria.com.au/activities-events/activities/national-
adventurous-activity-schools/survival-school/

VVC Term 1 Newsletter - January 2021                                                                         1

Youth Member Contact Details Update
Progressively during February 2021, Scout Victoria will be sending out invitations to all our members to invite
them to update their details on record with Scouts Victoria, including email addresses, school information and
contact information. This data assists in supporting the ability to invite youth members to events, but
importantly to support our obligations in contact tracing in the event of COVID-19 infections.
Many Venturers experience problems when trying to register for courses as their details are usually parents
contacts from when you were a Joey, Cub Scout.
Please let your parents know this update is happening so you can update your personal contact details so we
can get in touch directly with you. Emergency Contact details will remain as parents for those under 18 years.

Hoadley Hide 2021 - Exploits on the Goldfields– from the Hide Chief
Last year Venturers participated in ‘Hoadley Hide @ Home, our online Initiative
Course as part of ‘Virtual Venturing’ and from all reports, they thoroughly
enjoyed the social contact it offered and the great activities.
Hoadley Hide is back in-person in 2021, and we want as many Venturers
in Victoria to join in the fun this Easter!
This is a special invitation for you to join us at Barry's Reef Scout Camp to
take advantage of being back to face-to-face Scouting, and actually meet
the friends you made virtually last year, and spend much needed time
outdoors.

Hoadley Hide is a competition hike and initiative course where you and your team of 4-6 Venturers can test
your navigation, scoutcraft, and problem solving skills against other teams by hiking between stunts to earn
points, and hopefully become Co-Holders of the Hoadley Hide.
We hope you'll be able to put a team together with other Venturers from your Unit or District or even ones
you met last year, and see what in-person Hoadley Hide is really all about - make sure Hoadley Hide goes on
your Unit's program for Term 1!
For more information and to register NOW, visit www.hoadleyhide.com.au or contact us via email
hoadleyhide@scoutsvictoria.com.au
Check out the latest updates on Facebook: facebook.com/hoadleyhide

Queen’s Scout Presentation Toolkit
With all those Queen’s Scouts being awarded in 2020, we are having a rush of presentation ceremonies. Here’s
a ‘grab bag of ideas to help plan the ceremony and make it a memorable day for the Venturer and the Unit.
https://scoutsvictoria.com.au/age-sections-adults/venturers/venturer-resources/

Venturer Livestream - Coming Soon
We plan to present a Venturer Livestream session each term during 2021. If Units have any topics
they would like to have included, please send them to support@vicventurers.com.au
More details will be provided shortly.

Virtual Venturing 2020 badge
Celebrating our Virtual Venturing achievement and the resilience of
Venturers under COVID-19 during restrictions in 2021 this cloth badge
can be worn on your uniform until 31 March 2021.

There are now limited stocks available. Order from the Scout Shop
https://scoutshop.com.au/ at $2.00 with any profits made to go to
Headspace.

VVC Term 1 Newsletter - January 2021                                                                           2

Our Program for Venturers
2021 sees the next phase of Our Program in Victoria with Outdoor Adventure Skills (OAS) being launched in
February and Special Interest Areas (SIA) coming in July.
To assist Venturers and Leaders as Groups transition to Our Program, we are providing several resources to
improve your understanding the various elements. There are some great PowerPoint slides on Achievement
Pathways and OAS for Venturers and some insights into using Terrain.
Checkout the resources: https://scoutsvictoria.com.au/age-sections-adults/venturers/our-program-for-
venturers/

18+ Venturers and Working With Children Check
VVC continue to see Venturers presenting for Queen’s Scout or courses without a valid Working With Children
check or completing the two mandatory Scout Victoria On Demand Learning (E-learning) modules. Scouts
Victoria policy on Child Safe Scouting requires Venturers who turn 18 but are remaining in Venturers until the
end of their Year 12 school year to complete these requirements.

Prior to their 18th Birthday, these Venturers MUST have a Victorian Working with Children Check and complete
the two compulsory eLearning modules for all adult members of Scouting: Child Safe Scouting (BCORE CHILD)
and WHS for Scouting (BCORE WHS).

Without these recorded on the Extranet, this places them and Leaders at risk for not conforming with State
and Federal Legislation and is contrary to Scouts Victoria requirements. It also makes Venturers ineligible to
receive an Award, and this will now be checked during processing a Queen’s Scout Award. Your Group Leader
must also be in the loop with 18+ Venturers.

If Venturers or Venturer Leaders need assistance with this process, discuss with your Group Leader, or contact
memberservices@scoutsvictoria.com.au

Our Strategic Plan 2021
The Venturer Council and Youth Team met at a retreat in December to determine our Strategic Plan for 2021.

Our Goals led by Project Patrols include:

    •    KEEP – encouraging the journey from Scouts and to Rovers | Promoting the Big 5 events
    •    BUILD – Regional Venturer linkages | Our Program rollout (roadshows, Livestream, Z/DVC’s | Unit
         Buddy System | Online Venturing
    •    SERVE (the Venturer Experience) –Service opportunities in other section | Cuboree 2021 |Managing
         section Leaders expectations at events | OAS in younger sections as Examiners/Assessors.
    •    MARKETING – via Facebook/Instagram | Be Informed | Australian Scout | Venturer website
         |Newsletters | Promotion at events.

Oz Venture 2021 Victorian Contingent Shirts
So OzV2021 has been cancelled, but we have some fabulous shirts to purchase as
an item of memorabilia.
Remaining shirts will be on sale at AG at reduced prices.

           We hope to see you soon at a Venturer event or activity in Term 1 and beyond.

                  Duncan McColl – State Commissioner Venturers and the VVC Team

VVC Term 1 Newsletter - January 2021                                                                             3