Bouldering is a wonderful introduction to rockclimbing.

Through good planning, good promotion and motivation to climb, the Venturers arrived at Friction Bouldering ready to give everything a go. As they moved around the climbing gym the Venturers discovered there was a large variety of different climbing walls to challenge them and test their skills. With open support and encouragement from each other, everyone happily gave it a go, working together to extend skills and experience the thrill of climbing.

Throughout the night many walls were conquered with the Venturers easily mastering the art of Bouldering and finding themselves at the top of most of the walls.

It was a fun night, thoroughly enjoyed by all.

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SnowVenture is a challenging and uniquely enjoyable Alpine experience.

The challenge starts with an 11km cross-country ski with full packs from Falls Creek to the Bogong Rover Chalet where Venturers then live together for 7 nights. While living at the Chalet, the Venturers further develop their cross-country skiing skills through daily ski tours in accordance with the weather, snow conditions, physical fitness & skiing ability as well as working together to complete a series of daily duties to ensure everyone is fed and the Chalet is in good working order.

Situated in the stunning Bogong High Plains, the Chalet is in the perfect position for exploration, skill acquisition, friendship, snow play and fun. Throughout the SnowVenture Program, Venturers develop their Alpine Outdoor Adventure Skills (OAS) through skiing, trip planning, survival skills and emergency scenarios. It is a wonderful week of growth and development for all involved.

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With the amazing support of the Dick & Pip Smith Leadership Through Adventure Fund, and two years of preparation, the 1st Ballan youth were more than ready to travel to Tasmania and walk the Overland Track.

Before they even boarded the plane the youth had successfully obtained funding, completed a Remote Area 1st Aid Course, enjoyed many day walks, completed six Australian Scout Award Adventurous Journeys and two Venturer Peak Award Adventurous Journeys, experienced a World Jamboree in South Korea, visited Kandersteg in Switzerland as part of their Centenary celebrations, survived Venture24, achieved multiple Gold Awards at Scout Hike and Stradbroke Cup, written an Expedition Booklet as well as implemented a parent presentation night on gear, nutrition, 1st Aid, track conditions, weather, navigation, itinerary, accommodation & roles and completed the paperwork required by Scouts Vic & Scouts Tassie to travel interstate. With no stone left unturned, our youth were ready for the challenge before them ... this is their Cradle Mountain Expedition.

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After the success of the Venturers commitment to Service at the Bunnings Family Christmas Night, they were invited back to support the Bunnings Family Easter Night at Bunnings Melton East. With knowledge and experience the Venturers enthusiastically said "YES".

This time the Venturers ran an Easter Ornament Table where all the families could come together and create a decorative Easter Ornament. It was a busy night with plenty of families engaging in the activities keeping the Venturers on their toes and ready to go.

However, our Unit Leader was mysteriously missing throughout the night. After being the driving force behind their involvement, the Venturers looked everywhere for their Unit Leader but couldn't find him ... or could they?
Really ... could it be ...

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Venturer Units are built on traditions, and after meticulous planning and preparations the 1st Ballan Venturers were ready to implement their first tradition, a formal dinner at a local fast food restaurant.

Walking into the restaurant with confidence, the Venturers located an ideal table and set it up complete with tablecloth, plates, cutlery, serviettes, glasses, jugs and place mats ready for their Fast Food Formal dinner. Next challenge ... ordering dinner and waiting for their number to come up.

With all meals on the table, the Venturers very quickly deconstructed their meals onto their plates and thoroughly enjoyed their formal meal. They had great fun laughing, talking and sharing stories while eating dinner, before devouring dessert to complete their Fancy Fast Food dining experience.

The night was so successful that the Venturers are looking forward to their next one, where?  Who knows?

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With a focus on Youth Leading, Adult Supporting an amazing weekly program was meticulously planned and executed on a very warm evening that saw our Venturers ride from Ballan to Bacchus Marsh using the train line as a handrail to guide them into the Bacchus Marsh train station.

With a tight schedule the ride wasn't without incident when a pedal crank completely snapped ... we were one rider down.  With a lift back to Ballan the group continued on their journey to Bacchus Marsh.  As they headed east towards their destination there was an amazing sunset in the west making for ideal riding conditions.  As the Venturers continued their confidence grew and so did their speed as they emerged from the Werribee Gorge State Park and rapidly descended towards Bacchus Marsh.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable ride on a pleasant evening. A true Youth Leading, Adult Supporting event that concluded with a train ride back to Ballan.

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Our Venturer Unit are always willing to serve the Community and help others. So, when the opportunity to support the Bunnings Family Christmas Night at Bunnings Melton East was offered, it was openly accepted as it was time for our Venturers to give back and say thank you for everything that Bunnings Melton East has done for our wonderful Scout Group.

The challenge was simple ... turn up in full Scout uniform and Bunnings will provide everything.

Implementation was a little different ... there were people everywhere, especially kids who wanted to do everything and engage in all of the activities. Up for the challenge our Venturers handled it really well and they fed the community through a free Bunnings Sausage Sizzle and helped heaps of families make a Christmas decoration for their Christmas Tree.

Highlight of the night ... meeting Santa.

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"Let's make Christmas Cards for the residents in the Ballan Aged Care Home?"

"Sounds like a great idea, let's do it."

Great things happen through tiny steps and with this challenge accepted the Venturers embraced it with both arms and with a list of all the Age Care Residents sat down and created unique handmade Christmas Cards for each and every recipient. It didn't matter that they didn't know each other, it was about making people smile through an act of generosity and kindness.

Once the cards were created the Venturers came together one afternoon and happily delivered them to the Residents and simply spending some time together.

A wonderful initiative where everyone benefitted and enjoyed the experience.

An Adventurous Journey begins the moment a seed is planted to go outdoors and challenge yourself and a team through an adventurous pursuit. The planning is meticulous, promotion boisterous and execution lead with knowledge, courage, tenacity and initiative ... all of which was implemented in the successful outcome of this wonderful journey within our Wombat State Forest along the Great Dividing Trail.

You can plan everything, except the weather. You can only prepare yourself for the weather. Commencing in the rain this expedition followed the Trail into the township Blackwood. Day two continued in the rain as the team walked out to O'Brien's Crossing. Day three saw the team walk through on of the biggest thunder storms the Forest has seen in years before the clouds cleared, the sun came out and the remainder of day there and the Journey throughout day four was a pleasant walk along the Trail into Bacchus Marsh, completing a memorable and enjoyable Adventurous Journey.

A truly significant achievement for all participants, opening up possibilities to what they can achieve as a team.

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Learning new skills can be a challenge.  However, when that skill is Lead Climbing the challenge is heightened to a whole new level.  Joining the Scouts Victoria Vertical Rockclimbing Team three of our Venturers accepted the challenge to learn, acquire and apply the skills required to be a Lead Climber.

Involving four weekends over a couple of months this course required commitment and dedication from both the participants and their families.  With each weekend implemented at Mt Arapiles it gave the Venturers a real insight into what climbing can offer including the variety of different climbs, levels and locations.  Throughout the course the Venturers learnt all aspects of climbing including safety, gear, weather, knots, ropework, techniques, protection placement, cultural respect, historical knowledge and minimal impact practices.

While exhausted at the end of each day, our Venturers thoroughly enjoyed the course and look forward to more opportunity to climb and further apply their skills in the future.

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Within the Scout Association a Jamboree is a large gathering of Scouts who come together to continue and share their Scouting Journey through adventure, pioneering, service and community. Jamborees occur at both a national and international level and enable Scouts to gain a greater insight and appreciation into the largest youth organisation on planet Earth.

A World Jamboree brings young people from all over the world together for a common cause ... Scouting.

A World Jamboree is an exceptional experience where youth live as one without prejudice, colour, language, race, economic background, religion, borders or names. It's an experience dominated by acceptance, laughter, happiness and freedom. A world where there is only one currency, badge swapping and youth have the freedom to move from country to country through the community of campsites.

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With a focus of walking Cradle Mountain's Overland Track in the Tasmanian Wilderness as a team of Venturers (with some experienced Scouts invited) it's an obligation to work on the logistics, paperwork and preparations required, but without the fitness, experience and training, the journey will be a struggle.

This is the story of a team of youth who worked together to achieve their goal and walk the Overland Track.

With funds secured from the Pip & Dick Smith Leadership Through Adventure Fund the reality of going to Cradle Mountain become real. So a plan was created, a Committee formed and actions implemented.

One of the first actions implemented was to keep up the fitness levels and hiking experience ... to go outside, explore, discover and have fun through the experience of hiking and expedition training.

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Whenever the Venturers get together it is always a fantastic night focused on fun, friendship, laughter and engagement.

This night was no different as the Venturers embraced the theme of Disney Princesses and dressed up as best they could.  As they celebrated simply being together, they had a lot of fun as they set up their own fashion show and proudly paraded their outfits and cheered for each other's effort and achievement.  It was a wonderful display full of colour, imagination, magic and laughter.  Everyone simply enjoyed being there together.

With the catwalk closed it was time to party and celebrate a birthday.  Decorations were placed throughout the hall, with an introduction to line dancing courtesy of the Nutbush the dancing began.  They continued to fill the hall with joy and laughter as they sang together before finishing the night with happy birthday and cake. 

A fun night had by all.

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Dick Smith has lived an amazing Scouting Life.  Philanthropist, Adventurer, Entrepreneur and a successful Scout.  Dick's love for nature and everything outdoors came to him through opportunities as a child to be a Scout and enjoy growth, development and skill acquistion through engagement with the Scouting Program.

Dick has never forgotten his Scouting background and is always happy to support and give back to Scouts ... locally, statewide & nationally.  Through a very significant donation given to Scouts Australia the Dick & Pip Smith Leadership Through Adventure Fund was created offering Scouts of all ages the opportunity to apply for funding for projects and adventures that further helps develop their leadership skills.

With a focus of walking the Overland Track in Tasmania, our Venturer Unit accepted the challenge and made a submission to the Dick & Pip Smith Leadership Through Adventure Fund Committee for $10,000 to help them achieve this goal.  Through Unit Council approval their application was discussed, created, refined and proudly submitted.  Result .... our 1st Ballan Venturer Unit was the only Victorian Recipient, receiving $10,000 towards their Tasmanian Overland Track Adventure in the Funds inaugural Leadership Through Adventure allocation.

THANK YOU, DICK & PIP SMITH and SCOUTS AUSTRALIA.

1st Ballan Venturers Dick & Pip Smith Leadership Through Adventure Fund Application

INAUGURAL DICK & PIP SMITH LEADERSHIP THROUGH ADVENTURE FUNDING ALLOCATION

Whether it's Joeys, Cubs, Scouts, Venturers, Rovers or Adults Investitures, are an important step in any Scouting Journey and at our Venturer Unit our Venturers choose the location of their investitures.

On a perfectly clear but cool evening with the sun setting in the background at the Ballan Oval, three Venturers were invested and welcomed into the Unit. It was a wonderful setting for an investiture and with the cool evening wind holding the flag to the football net at the back of the goal posts, the Venturers re-confirmed their Scout Promise & Law and prepared themselves for the next stage of their Scouting Journey.

With an option to be invested 7½m off the ground the temptation was too great with an overwhelming ... "Yes please." Standing on top of the tower, the Venturers held parade. With parade finished, the investiture began with one Venturer using Auslan to sign the Scout Promise & Law throughout the elevated investiture. Once invested there was only one thing to do ... throw the new Venturer off the tower to celebrate.

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On a perfect night for fishing the Venturers arrived at Pykes Creek Reservoir ready to try their luck at catching a fish ... marlin, barramundi, blue whale, shark, carp, red fin, clown fish or a cold ... the Venturers didn't care what they caught, as long as they caught something.

With everyone onsite and ready to go they picked up their gear and prepared to fish when tragedy struck ... a fishing rod snapped, broken before a line was even cast. Undisturbed the Venturers carried on, setting & baiting their rods ready to go. Standing on the edge of the Reservoir lines were cast ... and patience kicked in as the Venturers sat down and simply waited.  It didn't take long before a fish was caught. Reeled in with excitement the Venturers celebrated before realising the fish had died. So, a burial site was chosen and a fish funereal arranged. Standing in a circle the fish was honoured as the mourners individually relived the happy but brief times they had together with the fish before respectfully burying the fish.  With the funereal over, the fishing continued and to the surprise of the Venturers they caught more fish, four in total ... a very successful and fun evening had by all.

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With an offer to travel to Marvel Stadium in Melbourne to watch Australia beat New Zealand in the Bledisloe Cup, our Venturers excitedly jumped at the opportunity to go. In the early evening they boarded the train and quickly found themselves at Marvel Stadium ready to enjoy the game. Regardless of one slight issue ....

Only one Venturer knew anything about Rugby League ... but the Venturers didn't care, they were just happy to be there and thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere within the Stadium, as they watched and absorbed the experience that is Bledisloe Cup.

Throughout the game they watched intently, learnt about the game and simply had fun together throughout the night. While the result wasn't what they'd hoped for, it was still a very enjoyable evening, and everyone had fun watching the Rugby and travelling on the train.

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With the Venturers implementing their own program, it was agreed that one night would be a cooking night, where the Venturers were challenged to cook a meal of their own choice.

Arriving at the hall with their ingredients, the Venturers very quickly found themselves in a Master Chef challenge where not only were they challenged to cook the best meal, they were also challenged to cook using different cooking appliances.

One Venturer used the stove tops; one the oven & a third Venturer used a trangia. It was great fun and the Venturers thoroughly excelled at the social aspect of cooking as they laughed, chatted and enjoyed each other's company during the cooking challenge.  With each meal presented on the table, the judges sampled each delicious delight and awarded a winner, before the meals were devoured by all.

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Anything Goes or AG is Australia's largest weekend Venturering Event designed to create amazing, enjoyable times for its participants and to help promote Venturers to Linking Scouts. The event is largely designed around freedom; allowing for Venturers to do as little or as much as they want. If Venturers just want to just chill out and catch up with mates, or even if they you are the type of Venturer that craves adventure, then AG is the perfect event and experience for all Venturers.

AG activities include horse riding, rafting, mountain biking, ten pin bowling, scuba diving, a high ropes course, four wheel driving, helicopter rides, laser tag and much more.

With heaps of onsite and offsite activities, AG provides something for everyone’s tastes and interests!  With this being the first Branch Venturer Event attended by our 1st Ballan Venturers it was a wonderful introduction and thoroughly enjoyed by all.

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