Shadow Event
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Hurray!!! The biggest night-time orienteering exercise in the country happened again.
'If you go down to the woods today you're sure of a big surprise' well actually what you would have seen is Nottinghamshire Youth Services 'Shadow' event.
The 34th Shadow all night orienteering event took place on 11/12th October at the National Nature Reserve in Sherwood Forest, a stunning location of ancient woodland. Shadow is the biggest all night orienteering event of its kind in the country, and involves teams of young people between the ages of 14-19 working together using their various skills together with map reading to walk through the forest to reach grid references.
The exercise is spread across 20² kilometres of Sherwood Forest which is divided into 3 sectors.
Spread across each sector are 6 ‘incidents’ at each of these the teams are asked to perform a task which could be anything from first-aid, mind games, physical chores, team skills, karaoke, etc. Teams are then awarded points on how they performed the task, worked together and used their initiative. Teams are given 7 hours to complete as much as they can, and all this at night! The team with the most points at the end of the exercise wins
The challenge of this event is teamwork, enthusiasm, working against the elements, learning new skills, having fun and walking in the dark. This years event was enjoyed by over 450 young people (87 teams) from Nottinghamshire and beyond which included 40 Nottinghamshire Youth Service teams, Duke of Edinburgh, Scouts, Guides, Methodist Clubs, Rangers, St Johns and ATC. All were served a breakfast before returning home somewhat tired out but having had a positive, enjoyable experience and gaining a “real sense of achievement”.
Without the help and commitment of the volunteers, the incident runners and the service providers - The Red Cross, N.E.S.S.T, Nottinghamshire Constabulary, W.R.V.S, Sherwood Rangers and Youth Workers - it would not be possible to mount such an event and thanks must go to those who spent the night in the forest giving in excess of over 3000 hours of endeavour – no mean feat.
Find out more about this exciting event under What is Shadow - the shadow experience below.
Important notice: If you took part in this years event don't forget to send in your team report for Shadow - Your Views and you will be entered into a prize draw! Last years prize draw winners "The Smurfettes" won £50 Victoria Centre vouchers.
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What is Shadow? - the Shadow experience "This is the biggest night-time orienteering exercise in the country." Shadow is an overnight navigation and initiative test for teams made up of 5 young people. A sense of adventure, pitting oneself against the elements and dealing with all the different incidents encountered are all vital ingredients of the overall experience . The ancient woodland at Sherwood Forest is the location of this event and it is held on an autumn night when the weather conditions can be severe. "Shadow is run with a spirit of enjoyment and everybody working as a team." The exercise is spread right through the forest, where the area is divided into three coloured sectors, each team having to complete a sector before moving onto the next one. In the sector are incidents, these are given as grid references. At each incident the team are asked to perform a task, which could be anything, from quizzes, mind games, physical activities, first-aid, singing, karaoke. Teams are awarded points for working together and using their initiative, the team with the highest score at the end of the exercise wins. "Not forgetting the army of volunteers who help with the organisation and running of the event" Shadow has been in operation for over thirty years with hundreds of young people taking part; many come back year after year. The event's success is mainly due to the army of volunteers who spend many hours organising and facilitating the event. |
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