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Games and Athletic Standards
305

The winner is the one who first gets twenty-five or fifty points, as agreed.

When afoot, one naturally takes other things for points, as certain trees, flowers, etc.

Lion Hunting[1]

A lion is represented by one scout, who goes out with tracking irons on his feet, and a pocketful of corn or peas, and six lawn-tennis balls or rag balls. He is allowed haft an hour's start, and then the patrol go after him, following his spoor, each armed with one tennis ball with which to shoot him when they find him. The lion may hide or creep about or run, just as he feels inclined, but whenever the ground is hard or very greasy he must drop a few grains of corn every few yards to show the trail.

If the hunters fail to come up to him neither wins the game. When they come near to his lair the lion fires at them with his tennis balls, and the moment a hunter is hit he must fall out dead and cannot throw his tennis ball. If the lion gets hit by a hunter's tennis ball he is wounded, and if he gets wounded three times he is killed.

Tennis balls may only be fired once; they cannot be picked up and fired again in the same fight.

Each scout must collect and hand in his tennis balls after the game. In winter, if there is snow, this game can be played without tracking irons, and using snowballs instead of tennis

Plant Race

Start off your scouts, either cycling or on foot, to go in any direction they like, to get a specimen of any ordered plant, say a sprig of yew, a shoot of ilex, a horseshoe mark from a chestnut tree, a briar rose, or something of that kind, whichever you may order, such as will tax their knowledge of plants and will test their memory as to where they noticed one of the kind required and will also make them quick in getting there and back.

Throwing the Assegai

Target, a thin sack, lightly stuffed with straw, or a sheet of card-board, or canvas stretched on a frame.

Assegais to be made of wands, with weighted ends sharpened or with iron arrow heads on them.


  1. The games from Lion Hunting to Hare and Hounds are from General Baden-Powell