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August Camp Out

For the August Camp out, we need to get a solid number attending (boys & adults) in order to make a reservation. There is a minimum number needed to get their discounted rate. The sooner we make our reservation, the better chance of securing spots at Camp Kern. We want to get this taken care of BEFORE summer camp to hopefully ensure success.
August 19-21

Camping is at Morgan’s Canoe in Ft. Ancient
Activities will be at Camp Kern (Tango Tower and Mine Shaft)
Attached are the TWO forms that need to be returned no later than Tuesday July 5. If for some reason you/your son are unable to be at the next two Troop meetings but want to go on the August campout, please let Fitz know via e-mail

Double X Tango Tower
The only one of its kind in the world! Challenge your group to our 55 foot climbing tower with 9 different climbing elements, including the Vertebrate, Giant’s Ladder, Rope X, and Cowboy Up!

The Mineshaft
Speed down a 200 ft tube in pitch black at 20 mph!

Consent Form – Camp Kern tango tower & mineshaft Aug 2016
YMCA Camp Kern Waiver

Up coming events and summer camp info

Sorry this is so long BUT there is a lot going on over the next 30 days. Please read carefully.

Tuesday June 21, 7:00-8:15 – we will hold our annual swim test at the Madeira Swim & Tennis Club, $3 for non-members. For 1st year parents, passing the swim test will allow your son full access to the pool and lake, there are several levels of the swim test which translate into full or partial access at camp. The test is typically not difficult for most but if your son is unable to swim or is deathly afraid of the water there are opportunities at camp to get lessons. We do the swim test BEFORE going to camp to avoid having to wait in line with a hundred other campers to take the test. If your son is going to be out of town next week, please let me know and we may be able to arrange an alternate date OR I will ask that you get this done at the pool on your own. If your son is NOT going to summer camp but wants to come and have fun in the pool that would be great.

Sunday June 26, — Madeira Criterium, more information coming in a separate post.

Tuesday June 28, 7:00pm- 8:15pm – I will be holding a meeting for all 1st year parents of boys going to Summer Camp 2016. This is an informational meeting to help provide you an understanding of what does/doesn’t happen at camp, what they/you can expect, timeline, activities, your support, etc., etc. Please plan to have at least one parent for each boy attend.

Sunday July 10 Noon –  Summer Camp begins, we will meet at the church at noon to load up the trailer and head out to camp. Boys should eat lunch BEFORE coming to the church. Their first meal in camp will be dinner time.

Friday July 15 5:30pm – We will be having our annual Family Dinner at Summer camp. This is open to ALL actively affiliated with Troop 209, regardless of whether your son is attending Summer Camp (Committee Members are welcome).  Attached is a form that must be returned by July 5th so that our cooks can plan appropriately. No boys should be leaving with parents on Friday night AND please do not take home their gear.

Saturday July 16 10:00am/10:30am – We will be returning to the church around this time. Exact time is difficult to say as we are at the liberty of the camp staff checking us out in the morning.

Miscellaneous Summer Camp Forms – all applicable forms must be return to the troop meeting by the date indicated below

  1. COPE, Climbing and Rappelling form – this must be completed and returned IF your son is taking COPE, Climbing OR plans to use the climbing/rappelling tower during open time. It is better to complete the form just in case he decides on Thursday to go climbing. Without a form, he will not be able to participate. Form due by July 5th.
  2. Special Diet Request form– this must be completed and returned IF your son has a special medical diet (allergies to certain foods are the most common).  Please read the form as this does not apply to picky eaters only true dietary concerns. Form due by June 28th.
  3. Early Release form – if for some uncontrollable reason, your son MUST leave camp for an event, the attached form needs to be completed and returned. Our preference is that no boy must leave camp. Please set expectations with employers and coaches now to avoid any surprises. I would like these back by July 5th so that these can be in the camp office and thus remove additional burden on me during camp. Form due by July 5th.
Cope – http://www.danbeard.org/pubs/Project_COPE_Consent_Hold_Harmless.pdf
Early Release – http://www.danbeard.org/pubs/CF_Early_Release_Form.pdf
Special Diet – http://www.danbeard.org/pubs/CF_Special_Diet_Request_Form.pdf

June Camp out, Urgent forms due tomorrow

BOTH FORMS DUE TOMORROW JUNE 14

Thank you for your patience as we worked out the details of the alternative to the rafting trip that was planned for this weekend.  Per my previous e-mail, we will be going canoeing/kayaking this coming weekend at Morgan’s Canoe Livery in Brookville, IN. This will be a regular campout where we will leave on Friday and return on Sunday. The details are in the permission form.
We MUST have final headcount numbers Tuesday night so all forms (2) are due at the troop meeting tomorrow. Each person will need to have completed the Morgan’s Waiver form.Consent Form –

Consent Form – Morgan’s Canoe – June 2016
Morgan’s Waiver

Urgent June Camp out information

BOTH FORMS MUST BE TURNED IN NO LATER THAN TUESDAY JUNE 7th

Whitewater Rafting
OhioPyle, PA
Leave — Saturday June 18
Return — Monday June 20
Cost — $95, includes rafting, camping, 5 meals and tip for rafting guide

We will be doing only the medium-high intensity trip as only one person responded to my recent e-mail about the lower intensity trip. All boys must be at least 12 yelower_yough liability formars old OR 70 lbs/24 inch chest. We chose to pay a little extra to include a professional guide in each raft (safety over cost). We also chose to raft on Sunday to save $13/person.
Note – the lower youth liability form needs to be signed by both the boy and parent (if under age 18)

Consent Form- Ohiopyle rafting June 2016
lower_yough liability form

June campout: Response needed

As mentioned at the Court of Honor on Tuesday, our June campout is scheduled for a Rafting Trip.

Here are the general details, more specifics later.

Depart – SATURDAY morning June 18
Raft – SUNDAY June 19 (this reduces the overall cost by $13/person)
Return – MONDAY June 20
Cost – between $90-$100/person

  1. We are planning to go to Ohiopyle, PA (5 hour drive), adults attending will need to take off work on Monday instead of Friday.
  2. The trip we want to take is the lower yough (yok), 5 hours on the water, med-high intensity
  3. The lower yough has a minimum age of 12 but have waived the age IF a boy is 70 lbs and 24 inches around the chest
  4. There is another rafting option at the same location that is lower intensity and thus the age doesn’t apply

PLEASE, respond to the e-mail sent by Mr. Fitz by Monday May 23 IF:

  1. Your son intends to go on the June campout AND
  2. He is younger than 12 & doesn’t meet the 70lbs/ 24 inch chest
  3. OR You want him going on a less intense rafting trip  (regardless of age)

If we have enough boys to go on the lower intensity trip, we will try to accommodate this trip, otherwise there will not be a rafting trip available to them.

COH recap and up coming events

This is a recap of the information that Mr.Fitz provided at the Court of Honor on Tuesday (for those that missed or those that just need this in writing).

Medical Forms – due by June 28th
Summer uniform (class B) begins May 31
Summer camp pre-work – begin working on this now. If you need information, see Mr. Zack

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Upcoming Events:

May 22nd 1:00 – 3:30 – Troop Operations Workshop (MSPC) – ALL PLC members are expected to attend
May 30th 9:30am Memorial Day March—meet behind the Middle School in full uniform
June ? Troop Meeting 6:30-8:30 – Madeira Swim Club – swim test, $2-5 non member
June 17-19 – Rafting Trip
June 26 – Madeira Criterium Bike Race – volunteer opportunity (more to come on this)
July 10-16 – summer camp

May Campout-URGENT

We apologize for this but the Troop needs a quick turnaround on these forms. The Troop needs to be able to give the climbing company a firm headcount on May 4th so Mr. Fitzgerald needs to know who is going this Tuesday, if your son is unable to attend Tuesday’s meeting to turn in the form, please e-mail Mr. Fitzgerald BEFORE Tuesday so he can put him on the list of attendees.

May 13-15 – We are going to the Red River Gorge area, we will be camping on private property near RRG. The camping property is outstanding and is generously open to us at no charge by a NKY business owner who owns it. Saturday we will be going climbing at Torrent Falls. Check out this website for more information, it is a really fun time and an experience you won’t want to miss. http://torrentfalls.com/viaferrata/torrent-falls-via-ferrata/

We will need BOTH forms returned on Tuesday May 3rd. Below is a link to the climbing form. Please, Please pay attention to completing this correctly. They are VERY strict with their forms.

    • Climbing Waivers:  http://torrentfalls.com/wp-content/uploads/Torrent-Falls-Climbing-Adventure-Waiver.pdf
    • Rules/regulations:
      • Youth will need to have a waiver signed by a parent or guardian.
      • Participants of the via ferrata must be 10 years of age or older.
      • Only 1 form per participant.
      • If you make a mistake, please draw one line through the error, and add correction above or below with your initials.
      • Any modifications to our waiver form will not be accepted.
      • Your emergency contact cannot be any one participating.
      • Must go through 30-45 min training course prior to climbing.
    • What to bring:
      • Clothing that is comfortable to climb in. Long pants are recommended. Shorts can be worn; however it is easy to scratch knees. If it is going to be cold, dress in layers, you can become hot while climbing. If it is going to rain, bring a rain jacket.
      • Closed-toed shoes – Tennis shoes or hiking boots work best. No flip-flops.
      • Adults – An adult is considered 18 years of age or older. For the Via Ferrata an adult is needed to participate with youth ages 10-14 in a 1:5 ratio of adult to youth. For guided rock climbing, an adult is required to be present for youth ages 14 and under. The adult may not have to participate but may be required wear a harness and helmet to aid the guide with rope set up. An adult doesn’t have to pay if not participating, but will be required to sign a waiver.
      • Water can be taken with you during your climb. You may want to bring a water-bottle holder (such as a Camelbak or fanny-pack).
      • Food is not provided. We recommend a lunch and a few snacks.
      • Camera
      • Sunscreen
      • Bug spray
      • Fingerless Gloves are recommended but not required for the via ferrata only. A fingerless glove such as a weight lifting or cycling glove works well. If full fingered, make sure the glove fits snugly so the finger tips do not get in the way of working our via ferrata clips. Gloves are not provided but can be purchased on site. If rappelling, you will be provided with gloves. For all other activities, gloves are not recommended

RRG Via Ferrata May 2016 – Consent Form

Thank You

Troop 209 would like to thank Mr. Westermeyer and his team for organizing our mulch delivery day this past Saturday. Furthermore, we would like to thank all the parents who came out that day to help their sons with delivery and those who bought mulch this year. We hope to receive such generous support from our community in the future!

April Campout

Our April campout is quickly approaching, April 22-24. BOTH of the attached forms AND a copy of a parents driver’s license must be turned no later than Tuesday April 19th.

We will be camping on-site at the Farm. Our Zipline package (2.5 hours) includes 13 ziplines and 5 high rope challenges.  We will finish with the Extreme-zipline which goes out over the pond.  Total cost per person: $55.

Normal Cost of camping: $5/tent/night, however, they are waiving this cost since we will be doing a service project (bring gloves).

All Adults who plan to attend, please e-mail be directly by Wednesday 4/13. Since this trip is outside of the Council area, we must submit a Travel Plan to Council this week with names of adults attending.

Requirements for anyone who plans on ziplining:

o     1.) Every participant must sign a Waiver (attached). Participants under the age of 18 must have a signed waiver by a parent. If the parent is not present, a photocopy of the parent’s driver’s license must accompany the signed waiver.

o     2.) The zipline canopy tour is designed for use by participants of average mobility and strength, and who are in reasonably good health.

o     3.) The minimum age is 7 years old main canopy course. Children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult, but must be able to participate independently of the adult.

o     4.) Closed toed shoes are required.

o     5.) Maximum weight for main canopy course is 250 pounds, this is a guideline. Please call if you have any questions.

o     6.) Each participant must be physically able to control the speed of their travel along the zip lines by grasping the cable with leather gloves.

o     7.) Each participant must be able pull themselves along the zip cable a few feet in the event they lose momentum before reaching any given landing platform.

o     8.) There is a 1500 foot unpaved nature trail to the training area at the beginning of your adventure. Each participant must be able to complete this walk.

o     9.) Pregnant women, people with heart, leg, or back problems, or other serious illnesses will not be allowed to participate in the tour.

Anyone who is not actively ziplining is welcome to take advantage of the catch-and-release fishing pond on the property.

Waiver Forms:

Markin Farms Waiver Agreement

Markin Farms Ziplining April 2016 – Consent Form(1)