PENFIELD – Braving the -15 degree weather, snow the 42nd Polar Bear Run continued the tradition of putting boy scouts against eleven trials of survival skills, citizenship and team work.
244 scouts were split between twenty-two troops. Scouts completed the stations in patrols. Many patrols were singular troops. Some patrols were made up of members from multiple troops. The scouts were encouraged to stay the night before the Polar Bear. This year temperature at night hit -15 degrees Fahrenheit. Each troop found their own way to battle the cold ranging from traditional camping methods to incorporating clever ways around the “no fire in tents” rule. The competition started at 8:45 Saturday morning.
The event roster for this year consisted of: depth finding, tree and tree product recognition, tomahawk throwing, rifle shooting, map and compass, wild life recognition, citizenship, knots and lashing, first aid, a sled obstacle course and fire building. Each event is designed to incorporate skills a scout should have, citizenship and team work. Examples of team work included the depth finding and citizen stations. The citizen station included several scouts trying to move by using the same single pair of skis simultaneously. According to Gregg Bennette, scouting resident, U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson and state Rep. Matt Gabler would be on site to assist with the Citizenship station along with the U.S. Army. Scouts were also graded on their cooking skills.
The Polar Bear was founded by Bob Strong and Bob Billick. Strong had passed away in the years since then. The theme of the Polar Bear borrows from the Klondike gold rush and the Alaskan Iditarod. Most of the sleds are done in the style of dog sleds and the stations are named after Alaskan towns.
