We’re so excited to welcome you to your Subcamp Home. Our teams of Scouters and Guiders have been working together to ensure that you can really make yourself at home in Essex. Over the coming months, you will receive information about your dedicated Subcamp and you’ll get to know your team. Every Subcamp is slightly different but we have a lot in common and here we’d like to outline some important things for you to know and prepare in advance.
We know you are eager to find out which Subcamp will be your home for the Jamboree and this information will be available by the end of May. We want you all to have the most International and diverse Subcamp experience. In order to ensure that every Subcamp has a similar number of international groups, scouts, guides and genders and to ensure that those groups who are paired are located together, we need to wait until all balances and phase 2 information has been submitted. You can help us by ensuring your group balance and all phase 2 information is completed and correct by April 30th.
What you can expect from your Subcamp?
Every Subcamp will have a Helpdesk: A place to ask questions or just catch up on the latest news and gossip. In addition, we will also hold daily Leaders Meetings to make sure that you are fully informed. We’ll have areas where you can meet your fellow campers and of course we’ll come to see you too. In the Subcamp central area, you’ll find things to do as well as someone to chat to. Your Subcamp team is there for you, our aim is to help you and your participants make the most of every opportunity, make new friends and most importantly have fun.
Welcome to the Subcamps that will “Change the World”
Over the coming months we will be sending a monthly Newsletter crammed full topical information together with a Good Camping Guide for all those helpful hints, a Handbook for Group Leaders and of course there will be much on the website to check out, in particular the news pages at www.eij.org.uk/news
Arrivals
Some useful points about arriving on site, full details will follow in the Handbook:
Groups are allowed onsite from 9.00am on Saturday 30th July. One vehicle per group is allowed on site at any time. All vehicles remaining in the car park must have a completed car park identity pass displayed in the windscreen at all times.
Facilities will support with transporting unit equipment to the Subcamp. Participants are expected to walk their own kit onto site.
Groups should report to their Subcamp Team for registration on arrival.
Retail outlets will be open in The Village for parents to stay for coffee/ buy merchandise.
Parents are welcome to stay in The Village for up to an hour to allow flow of traffic through the car park.
No early arrivals or pitching of tents before Saturday 30th July.
Your Camping Area
As you may be aware, the Essex International Jamboree takes place in an enormous field north of Chelmsford that we will transform into an amazing Village. However, as with all town-planning, we have to consider every piece of space and utilise it in the best way. This means that you will be allocated a pitch that is based on the number of people in your group, not your tent sizes.
On arrival, you will be shown to your pitch by your Subcamp Team who will show you the boundaries as well as the position of your Kitchen/Mess tent. Please ensure you abide to this as it’s important for your safety and everyone around you.
What do you need to do?
Assess the tents you are planning to bring in relation to your number of participants
Avoid bringing enormous tents
Only bring tents that are essential; space is limited so you’ll need to use it wisely
Theming and gateways
On Subcamps, we love to get into the spirit of ‘Our Changing World’ and are creating subcamps that will reflect that theme. All our subcamps are named after influential people in their area of expertise and your Subcamp will be laden with fun things related to that topic.
However to help us get to know each other and of course for you to share in the fun, we ask every group to bring a gateway for their individual pitch. This can be as elaborate or as basic as you like. Ideally it will have your unit name on it, but essentially it will be the entrance point to your pitch. So think about your structure then as soon as you know your Subcamp, you can start to decorate. We’re looking forward to seeing all your creative and fun approaches – amazingly no gateway is ever the same!
What do you need to do?
Watch out for your Subcamp Allocation
Build and bring a gateway for your pitch that has your unit/troop name on it
Tastes of the World
Do you have a unique dish that you can share? Are you an expert Pancake Maker? Did your Grandmother pass down a secret recipe to you? Do you have a national or local dish? Are you just simply a ‘toast and jam’ man? Whatever the case, we’d like you to share your favourite dish with your fellow Subcamp members.
What do you need to do?
Bring all the ingredients for you to cook and share your special dish with 50 people (we’d recommend mini/canapé versions)
Plan how you will share the food, do you need to bring napkins, paper plates, cocktail sticks, forks?
Create a recipe card with all the ingredients, this is particularly important for allergies however we’d kindly ask you to choose a nut-free recipe
EIJ Presents
We know your participants have amazing talent and we want to offer them a chance to showcase this at the Jamboree. We will soon be issuing more information on how to audition for this amazing opportunity but in the meantime please do let your Scouts and Guides know so they can think about and/or prepare their act as groups or individuals.
What do you need to do?
Promote EIJ Presents to your Scouts and Guides
Watch out for more information
Get Creative
We will be attempting to create a giant line of bunting to represent every participant with a flag. This bunting will symbolically unite us together and be a powerful image of all our new friendships. To do this, we need you to bring a material triangle for each participant and leader made from old or used fabric (light/plain colour), a bunting template can be found here.
At the jamboree, together we will decorate the triangles and build ‘Our Changing World Bunting’.
What do you need to do?
Bring a triangle piece of material for every participant and leader (a template will be available via the website)
Fun at the Fair
Everyone loves a fairground, and we’re no exception … that’s why we will be having all the Fun of the Fair one evening at the jamboree. Each Group needs to bring a game that can be played at the Fair. Examples of this include Roll a Dice, Hoopla, Hook a duck, Find the treasure and many more. We’ll ask you to charge a small fee of up to 20p per game and all the money raised will go to the Jamboree Charities.
What do you need to so?
Plan a ‘fundraising’ game and prepare your participants to lead the game
Run a practice evening at your Troop/Unit meeting
Bring all the items you need for the game to the jamboree
Plan how you will set up the game in the Village Green
Frequently Asked Questions
With 10,000 people attending the Jamboree, we receive lots of questions all of the time. To make this easier, and for you to get your answer quicker, we have collated the common questions on our FAQ page on www.eij.org.uk/faq. Here you can search for your query and find an answer; of course if it’s not there, please email info@eij.org.uk but could we kindly ask you to check the FAQ page first.
Bookings
You will have all received your Phase 2 information request over the last few weeks, if you haven’t please could you contact registrations@eij.org.uk. Phase 2 is an important time for our planning as it is when we ask you for the details of your individual participants, the request includes health information as well as a photograph. Please help us by completing this all by the end of April 2016.
Thank you to those of you who have completed Phase 2 and made your final payments; and a quick reminder to those who haven’t yet paid your final balance, it is due by the end of April 2016.
