After competing in the slingshot competition, Bear Leader John Lopez and his Cub Scouts from pack 494 gathered together in a huddle.
Lopez spoke to his group and shortly after, they put their hands together and let out their Cub Scout roar followed by echoes of laughter and fun-filled conversation.
“What I love the most is you can finally hear that thing that we missed during COVID,” Lopez said. “You get to hear the laughter and all the kids running around.”
Around 170 Cub Scouts from the Bill Hart District and beyond brought their game faces and competitive spirits to the William S. Hart Regional Park Campgrounds Saturday morning to compete in the 2022 Bill Hart District Cub Cup.
Jennifer Hudson, the Cub Scout Cup director, said all Cub Scouts in western Los Angeles County were invited to participate in the 18 different events they have to offer.
Hudson said this is the first Cub Scout Cup since 2019 due to the pandemic. After not having the event for three years, Hudson said it resulted in many Cub Scouts participating in the competition for their first time.
“A lot of the kids that you’ll see here haven’t participated or never even heard of Cub Cup before,” Hudson said. “And the ones that have were probably like 5 or 6 years old the last time they did it, so it’s sort of like the first time for most of them.”
The events ranged from athletic competitions such as a large obstacle course and a rope swing, to educational-based activities like the “Leave No Trace” trash cleanup and the Bigfoot Trivia.
Every Cub Scout must compete within their own ranking, which consists of the Lions, Tigers, Wolfs, Bears and Webelos ranks. According to Hudson, the Lions are the youngest with most of the kids being in kindergarten and the oldest are the Webelos, who are fifth graders.
Along with each participant getting a participatory ribbon, select Cub Scouts will be given an individual award based on first, second and third highest scores from the competitions and an overall winner for the highest, cumulative score.
In addition to the overall high scoring award, Hudson said they also give out an individual award for highest Scout spirit.
“It includes cheering everyone on, representing your team, wearing matching shirts, coming up with a cheer for their pack, greeting whoever they’re going to and more,” said Hudson regarding the criteria for the Scout Spirit Award.
The Cub Scout Cup kicked off with an opening flag ceremony with the Scouts Honor Society, also known as the Order of the Arrow. The events began afterward and included a lunch for all the participants.
Jeremy Burns, 9 and a Cub Scout with Pack 494, said his favorite activity was the slingshot catapult and he enjoyed giving the rest of his pack members pointers on how to succeed in the games so they could get a higher score.
“I was trying to tell them to back up on the rope swing so that you can jump into it and go farther,” Burns said. “Then I was trying to tell them that with the slingshot, you shouldn’t pull on the waist because I pulled back and it hit my hand instead.”
Regardless of the competitions and individual awards being given, Lopez said he emphasized to his Cub Scouts to work as a team and have fun whether they did well or not.
“We let them know it’s not about winning,” Lopez said. “It’s about having fun with the pack again, and getting to know each other just having fun.”
