Waterford
and South Kilkenny
Regional Competitions
Above: Members of St. Paul's enjoy their testmeal on a Louis Murphy competition.
The Waterford and South Kilkenny Region had a long history of organising and running very successful competitive events. Each year there was a cycle of events which troops prepared for as part of their programmes all year round. However in late March preparation usually began in earnest for the Regional Competitions and with previous All Ireland Melvin winners from the 3rd De La Salle and St. Paul's Scout Troop in the city and strong teams from the 7th De La Salle, Sacred Heart and Ballygunner; the competition for the top places was usually very tight. However all the competitions had an emphasis on fun and adventure and were accessible to all Scout Troops in the Region. The Ted Ryan Challenge Cup was the first part of the Waterford and South Kilkenny Regional Shield. The competition was generally for older Scouts (i.e. it was an under 16s competition).
Above: A trolley race on the Louis Murphy Competition in 1990.
Then in mid June the Louis Murphy Fun Weekend for the under 13s was held. The Trophy was named after the Region's first Commissioner. The event was usually based around one day of Campcraft consisting of gadget building and a Testmeal. The second half of the weekend consisted of nothing but fun activities including a risk your limbs Cyclocross, the annual hotly contested Soccer Blitz as well as a Fun Fair run by the Scouts and a Wacky Sports Challenge. On the Saturday night there was also a major campfire which because the whole troop could take part in the fun section of the Weekend and because it was usually the last Regional event of the year, it was always a massive success. "There ain't no flies on us" often got a bit hairy though.
Ted Ryan Memorial Cup | Louis Murphy Memorial Trophy | Regional Shield
Before 1994 a single competition, The Regional Shield, decided which troops would attend the Melvin Trophy. But after 1994 a new system took its place where the marks from three different competitions gave a Regional Shield winner. The Ted Ryan Memorial Cup was the first part of the Regional Shield, the second was the Louis Murphy for Under 13s and the final part was a troop inspection. The first Ted Ryan was none too successful however when terrible conditions forced the mountain weekend in the Comeraghs to be abandoned. It was even rumoured that David Rogers was almost lost forever to a bog.
Above: Members of the 3rd De La Salle on the Ted Ryan Challenge.
The 1995 competition was a much bigger success. The teams, without prior knowledge, had to hike to a destination in Pickardstown near Tramore where they built a shelter to sleep in. The next day the teams took part in orienteering and cooked a test meal. Sunday saw a short hike where first aid was tested and the cyclocross was held. After the success of this competition, the next two Ted Ryan competitions were modelled on it.
Above: Pat O'Connor of St.Pauls on the Abington Spring Bridge during the Ted Ryan Challenge in 1995.
The 1996 event was held in Faithlegg, six miles outside Waterford City, where the teams hiked to on Friday evening. There were a number of bases on Saturday, for pioneering a Dan Beard Tower had to be built, the camp field had to be mapped, a first aid base took place, a shelter had to be built for Saturday night and a campfire sketch had to be performed at the campfire. On Sunday morning a breakfast was cooked backwoods style and after the final inspection the Regional Trek Cart Race was held.
Above: Fergus Moloney, Bernard Cunningham, Joe Doyle and Mark Casey of De La Salle in the 1996 Trek Cart Race in Faithlegg.
The 1997 event was similar to the past Ted Ryan's but was based around The Regional Expedition badge and every one who took part received the badge. Teams of four competed and each troop could enter as many teams as they liked, the marks of each troop’s best two teams were then averaged to find a winner. The competition started on Friday with a hike to Pickardstown to build a shelter to sleep in, a device also had to be made to gather water. On Saturday the troops made the short hike to the Tramore sandhills for orienteering and a sand sculpture base. Teams were then brought by the RNLI boat to the Saleens. A full account is available here.
Above: A Kilmacow Team on the Ted Ryan Challange.
From here the teams had to hike to The Regional Scout and Guide Centre at Ballymacaw. A testmeal was cooked by each team and a Public Speaking base took place. Then as usual a campfire was held with some great sketches including the Pepsi Add by the 10th Kilkenny, Fawlty Fiction by the 17th Waterford and a great juggling performance by Mark Casey of the 13th Waterford. On Sunday there was a small pioneering base where each team built an ornate gate with only three spars. A final inspection was then held and the annual Trek Cart Race took place. Subsequent events took a similar format and there are some further accounts in our Troop Logs section. Overall they were great scouting events and it is to be hoped that a similar challenge in the same spirit of the Ted Ryan will be established for the new Waterford Scout County.
|
Above: The 1997 Ted Ryan Winners - the 17th St. Pauls.
The Louis Murphy Memorial Competition
Above: Sacred Heart, the winners of the Louis Murphy in 2000.
The Louis Murphy or the "Louis" as it was more commonly known was a competition for the younger scouts, which ran from 1977. The competition had always been campcraft based for U-14 scouts and also had numerous bases within the event. It had traditionally been held over a whole weekend but in 1995 when the first Fun Weekend was held the competition was reduced to just the Friday and the Saturday and the age category was also reduced to U-13. From 1995 the competition therefore started with teams of eight, building a full site on Friday night and Saturday morning, the teams then had to make a full four coarse testmeal.
Above: The 1997 Louis Murphy winners - The 13th Waterford.
That Saturday afternoon the sites were inspected as the scouts took part in the Fun Weekend. As the whole troop took part in the Fun Weekend they also took part in the dismantling of the site and the final inspection on Sunday.
|
As explained above the Regional Shield was therefore a combination of the marks of the Ted Ryan, the Louis Murphy and a troop inspection. It was generally awarded at the end of the Louis Murphy competition.
Above: The 13th De La Salle Scout Troop with the Regional Shield in 1993.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
County History | Camps History | Staff History | Melvin History
Entrance | County Programme | Guestbook
