Scouts’ Membership Increases after 25 years

MEDIA RELEASE

14 DECEMBER 2007

Scouts’ Membership Increases after 25 years

Scouting New Zealand CEO Chris Hooper is ‘delighted’ at the increase in membership of Scouting, the first in 25 years.

 Recent membership figures show that across the five regions, numbers of young people involved in Scouting has increased by 408 to 15,603 as compared with 15,195 for the twelve months’ previous.

The increase has been reflected in both rural and urban communities and net gains are most pronounced in Pukekohe, Tawa, Feilding, Mosgiel, New Lynn, Ngaio, Whangaparoa, Bishopdale, Eastbourne and Motu Moana / Green Bay.

“Clearly the work that has gone into Scouting over the past couple of years to upgrade the National Programmes has paid off,” said Mr Hooper.  “We know that an event such as the National Mudslide Day in February brings a lot of parents and children into contact with Scouting in an environment of great fun.  It is, however, the range of professional programmes such as the Walsh Flying School and the opportunities for extreme adventure and leadership training which really captures the imagination of teenagers and young adults.”

A team of Scouts from New Zealand recently completed a tour to Antarctica where they worked on building tracks around Scott Base and visited a number of the Antarctic research projects with which Antarctic New Zealand is involved.

“That was an extraordinary opportunity for our Scouts,” said Mr Hooper.  “The visit coincided with the International Polar Year and also with the International Centennial of Scouting.  It also marked a significant development in the partnership arrangement which Scouting New Zealand has with a number of professional bodies, including Water Safety New Zealand and Mountain Safety New Zealand.

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