Thursdays 7:30 – 9:30pm
ABOUT
The Venturer unit is for boys and girls, aged 14½ years to 18 years old.
Venturers is a do-it-yourself mix of fun, adventure, socialising and personal challenges that brings together like-minded young people from all walks of life. There are highly trained and experienced people to guide them through the different experiences and to teach the necessary skills.
Venturers also provides valuable “down-time” from studies, giving them the opportunity to remain refreshed and focused on their schooling. Venturers also get the opportunity to travel overseas, to live with different communities or provide service to them.
There are leadership and management courses available that will help in careers and personal life. Venturers can learn how to conquer different challenges, deal with new situations and develop their independence. Achievements will be recognised with the ultimate goal of earning the Queen’s Scout Award and its associated Certificate II qualification, which employers throughout Australia recognise and regard very favourably.
Venturers progress to the Rover Scout section after turning 18. Venturers who turn 18 during year 12 can wait to progress until they complete year 12.
Venturers can help you find your way in life!
TERM PROGRAM
PARENT INFORMATION
Activities
Venturers take time out to work on mental and physical well-being. You can learn to fly, abseil down cliffs or climb mountains.
Camping steps up to a whole new level of adventure, with snow challenges, rafting, horse riding and scuba diving. It’s all about healthy risk-taking, when so many young friends are making unhealthy choices. Venturers enjoy interstate, national and even international travel experiences.
Investiture
After your child has been coming to Venturers for about 6 weeks and decides that Scouting is for them, they are invested. This means they become a full member of 1st Glen Iris. Your Venturer will be required to make the Venturer Promise and know the Scout Law at their investiture (they can repeat after leader if preferred).
Badges
When your Venturer is invested, they will be presented with a number of badges that need to be sewn on to their shirt (see Badge layout).
Venturers can also earn badges through the Venturer Scout award scheme, with the ultimate award being the Queen’s Scout Award. These are detailed in the maroon Venturer Record Book. You will need to purchase a copy at a Snowgum store or online via The Scout Shop website.
Unit Council
The management body of the Venturer Unit is called the Unit Council. The Unit Council is made up of elected Venturers with another Venturer as Chairperson. The Leaders attend in an advisory role.
The Unit Council is responsible for managing Unit affairs including preparation and running of the program of activities, the appointment of activity leaders, supervision of award scheme standards and general discipline. Meetings are held at least once a month. The Unit Council is also responsible for the initial drafting and annual review of the Unit Constitution. Venturers elected to the Unit Council will hold office until such time as the members of the Venturer Unit determine, but they should be rotated at least every 12 months including the chair.
Major Events
Oz Venture – a national Venture is a gathering (like a Jamboree) for older teens with much more action-packed activities. It provides the unique opportunity to seek out new challenges, discover and develop new skills, whilst having adventures with Youth Members from all around the world.
Anything Goes – a giant adventurous activities weekend camp that caters for over 1,000 youth members. Activities can include horse riding, rafting, mountain biking, ten pin bowling, scuba diving, high ropes course, four-wheel driving, helicopter rides, laser tag and much more.
Hoadley Hide – a competitive event where teams of Venturers hike from activity to activity (called stunts), which are run by groups of Leaders and Rover Crews. A Rogaine and a night hike are some of the features. Music, videos and a DJ feature at night time campsites.
Snow Venture – held each year for Venturers at the Bogong Rover Chalet, and is an awesome opportunity to learn how or to improve your skiing over 8 days of skiing. (You soon learn if you haven’t skied before). The final leg of the trip is accomplished on cross-country skis for 11km. Yes, you need to and must be physically able to ski the full 11km into the chalet carrying all your gear and share of food.
Vic Gathering – an event run specifically for Victorian Venturers to provide a fun weekend to help the Venturers, Rovers and Leaders unwind at the end of a busy year. VG takes place on the first weekend of December each year.
CareMonkey Profile
CareMonkey is an automation platform for online forms, medical records and out of hall trip management. All of our Venturers and Leaders have CareMonkey profiles that are only shared with appropriate people such as leaders and first aiders. You will be sent a link to fill out a CareMonkey profile for your Venturer. Please complete it as soon as possible.
Fundraising
The 1st Glen Iris Committee is able to keep the registration fees affordable by holding fundraising events throughout the year. All Scouting families are expected to participate in these, so that the whole Group benefits. These funds are used to replace equipment, to maintain the Scout Hall, to provide badges and scarves for our members, as well as keeping the registration fees down.
PROMISE & LAW
Australian Scout Promise
On my honour,
I promise to do my best,
To be true to my spiritual beliefs,
To contribute to my community and our world,
To help other people,
And to live by the Scout Law.
Australian Scout Law
Be respectful
Be friendly and considerate
Care for others and the environment
Do what is right
Be trustworthy, honest and fair
Use resources wisely
Believe in myself
Learn from my experiences
Face challenges with courage
BADGES & AWARDS
The Venturer Scout Award Scheme is designed to widen Venturers’ interests and knowledge, while challenging them at the same time. It assists in planning a balanced program based on the Aims and Methods of Scouting.
The Award Scheme is not compulsory for Venturer Scouts, but those who do attempt it find they have a lot of fun while discovering new things.
There are four main components to the Award Scheme. These consist of the Venturing Skills Award, the Venturer Award, the Endeavour Award and the Queen’s Scout Award. In addition, Venturers may earn a number of special badges depending on their interests.
The Queen’s Scout Award
The Queen’s Scout Award is a Scouting Award that is recognised and valued in the community. A high personal standard is the only way to maintain this recognition and the standing of Queen’s/King’s Scouts of the past.
Rover Link Badge
The Rover Link Badge links Venturer Scouts to the Rover Section and is the next step towards the summit of the Scouting journey. Completion of this badge prepares the Venturer Scout for advancement to a Rover Crew. To earn this badge, formal contact must be made with a Rover Crew prior to joining one and Rover activities must be participated in with at least one being an overnight activity.
UNIFORM
Venturer Uniform
Venturers are expected to wear their Venturer uniform to all meetings unless advised otherwise.
The standard Venturer uniform consists of a blue shirt (Scouts Australia logo embroidered on pocket) with maroon shoulders and collar, a scarf and a woggle. The 1st Glen Iris scarf and all badges are provided by the Group and you need to provide the rest. This includes pants or shorts in a neutral colour (eg beige or khaki), and runners or closed shoes (no thongs or sandals).
For more formal occasions, eg, ANZAC Day parade, the uniform is worn with a plain pair of blue or beige pants (no jeans or tracksuit pants) and a pair of black or brown shoes. If a belt is worn it must be the official Scout belt.
Venturer shirts can be purchased in person from the Snowgum Factory Outlet (1702 Dandenong Rd, Oakleigh East), or online via The Scout Shop website.
Venturer Badge Placement
All badges need to be sewn onto the Venturer shirt in specific locations. The diagram below* shows the correct placement.
RESOURCES, FORMS
Program
Venturing provides an attractive program of activities, self-government, leadership experience, companionship of their own age and helps to develop initiative and resourcefulness. By determining their own training needs it encourages young people to be self-motivating. The Venturer program advances through stages culminating in the Queen’s Scout Award. Activities are planned to fit in with the following four development areas:
Community Involvement Citizenship, Environment , First Aid, Service
Part of becoming an adult is to develop an understanding of how our society operates at a local, state and national level. This area is broad and might involve study of institutions important in the community, the place of Scouting and other youth organisations in the community, the operation of government at all levels, road and boating safety, employment opportunities, Trade Unions and other professional bodies.
Adventurous Activities Expeditions, Outdoor , Initiative
Expeditions are an important part of the Venturer program and can involve hiking, canoeing, sailing or mountain biking. All expeditions must be an adventure into unfamiliar territory, require some considerable physical effort, planning, self-reliance and co-operation among the party. Remember ‘Fail to prepare; prepare to fail’.
Personal Growth Expression, Lifestyle, Ideals, Pursuits
Expression – Within Venturers there is the scope to develop artistic appreciation and performance. This area might include visual arts (painting ,sculpture, film), performing arts (music and theatricals) and the literary arts (poetry, journalism)
Leadership Development Unit Management, Leadership Course, Vocations
The proportion of time devoted to each activity will depend on the preferences of the Unit Members but a well balance program will include activities from all areas.
Please fill the Form to join the team.
GALLERY
