GALLERY: Sussex 100 celebrates Cubs' centenary

Cubs from across East and West Sussex gathered at Ardingly at the weekend for Sussex 100, a camp celebrating their section's centenary.
An aerial view of site at Ardingly with Cubs forming into the shape of 100An aerial view of site at Ardingly with Cubs forming into the shape of 100
An aerial view of site at Ardingly with Cubs forming into the shape of 100

It was the adventure of a lifetime for 2,600 Cub Scouts from across the two counties, running from Friday until today.

The weekend of camping, challenge and adventure, held at the South of England Showground in Ardingly, celebrated 100 years of the Cub Scout section, which started in 1916 to provide activities for boys who were too young to be Scouts.

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East Sussex County Scouts and West Sussex Scouts, working in partnership for the weekend, said the boys and girls had the chance to try a range of new experiences – some adventurous and challenging, some educational and others pure fun.

An aerial view of site at Ardingly with Cubs forming into the shape of 100An aerial view of site at Ardingly with Cubs forming into the shape of 100
An aerial view of site at Ardingly with Cubs forming into the shape of 100

These included a king-sized climbing and abseil wall, an extra-high aerial runway, archery and shooting, zorbing, pedal karts and handling exotic animals.

In the evenings, the Cubs gathered for entertainments, like a camp fire on Saturday and Jungle Fever, an extravaganza of singing and dancing.

During the weekend, the young people were able to show off their amazing abilities as entertainers and Sunday evening saw the final of Cubs Got Talent, where Mai from Brighton was chosen as the best of the best.

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Kaleigh, a Cub from Worthing, said the weekend had been ‘amazing’, ‘exciting’ and ‘awesome’, sentiments echoed my most of the young people.

Hannah Kentish, the Scout Association’s UK Youth Commissioner visited the camp and told the Cubs this was the best Cubs 100 she had visited so far.

On Sunday, the camp welcomed Worthing deputy mayor Alex Harman, deputy mayoress Fran Bull and Worthing youth mayor David Price.

The mayoral party was shown around the site by Will and Gemma, nine-year-old Cub Scouts from Worthing.

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Will was determined for his guests to experience the fun for themselves, so their first stop was the Leap of Faith, an exhilarating and nerve-wracking jump from a high platform on to a padded target.

Mr Harman and Mr Price both accepted the challenge and said they thoroughly enjoyed it.

They also helped make papier-mãche animals for the final parade, tried circus skills and archery, and had the chance to handle snails and other insects.

Mr Harman said: “It was amazing to see so many youngsters all so enthusiastic and having so much enjoyment.”

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He said Will and Gemma had been excellent hosts and helped him to see the experience through their eyes.

Mr Price added: “Compared with some other events I attend, we had the opportunity to really engage. I was impressed with the enthusiasm of the young people.”

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