Participant Hub

Every month our whole contingent comes together for an online catch-up. You'll receive exciting updates and news from the CMT, as well as the opportunity to meet other participants and IST members.

The link to join will be shared via email. If you've got something you want us to cover, leave a question on this Padlet. Recordings and slides will be shared on this tab.

Upcoming Roundups 

• Thu 4 July: Final updates
• Tue 16 July: Pre-Departure Briefing
• Thu 8 August: Post-event blues and social
• Thu 5 September: Impact survey and legacy

Recordings and slides

• June: Safeguarding and main site (recording, slides)
• May: Meet a member of the planning team (recording, slides)
• April: Travel tips (recording, slides)
• March: Post-event and Strandfest reveal (recording, slides)
• Nights Away Permit workshop (recording, slides)
• February: Travel docs and meet the Rover Reps (recording, slides)
• January: Path selection (recording, slides)
• December 2023: Main event, paths, kit, IST roles (recording, slides)
• November 2023: Kit (recording, slides)
• October 2023: Fundraising (recording, slides)
• September 2023: Post-event and top awards (recording, slides)
• August 2023: Registration (recording, slides)
• July 2023: CMT introduction & road to Roverway (recording, slides)

A key part of ensuring Roverway is a safe and enjoyable experience is all attendees completing a safeguarding course called Safe from Harm.

Follow this user guide to help you access the course and troubleshoot any problems. Click here to access the participant course using the key RW2024participant

When you complete the course, download your certificate and upload it to our Safe from Harm form (logging in with your EventsAir account details).

Everything you need to take to Roverway is given in our kit list, linked in the Useful documents section. More information is available in November's blog.

Uniform

You'll need to wear uniform on these dates:

• 22 July (travel) - uniform shirt/blouse & UKC scarf
• 1 August (Closing Ceremony) - uniform shirt/blouse & UKC scarf
• 2-3 August (Strandfest & all travel from Stavanger to Copenhagen) - UKC branded clothing & UKC scarf
• 5 August (travel) - uniform shirt/blouse & UKC scarf

Participants will need an Explorer Scout/Scout Network uniform shirt/blouse with the following badges:

You may also wear Nation, award and activity badges appropriate to your section. It's fine to wear your normal uniform, but you can also choose to buy a spare for Roverway.

Knives

Patrols need to bring bread and cutting knives, and you might also choose to bring a small penknife. To comply with laws in Norway and Denmark, make sure your knives are:

• No longer than 12 cm (4.5 inches)
• Carried in hold luggage
• Stored in a protective sheath/roll whenever not being used
• Left in tents or hostel rooms each day
• Not carried in public places

You'll need these important documents to travel. You should also bring a physical photocopy, and have access to a digital copy (stored in the cloud). We recommend Patrol Leaders also collect and have access to a digital copy for all patrol members.

Passport

You must have a valid passport with an expiry date no earlier than 5 November 2024.

GHIC

You will also need a UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) that's in date for the duration of Roverway. If you already have an EHIC, it's still valid as long as it's in date. The EHIC or GHIC and UK passport entitle you to state-provided medical treatment.

If you're currently aged under 16, a parent/guardian will need to apply for a GHIC for you.

Boarding passes and check-in information

Patrol Leaders will receive a 'travel pack' PDF by email, including an itinerary, boarding passes, and check-in information for flights and the post-event.

All medical conditions and medication must be disclosed via the Medical Needs Form, which you should keep updated with any changes until departure, and you should also notify your PL.

All medication carried must comply with the rules in Norway and Denmark. You should:

• Source enough medication to last you for 20 days
• Keep medicines and medical equipment in their original, correctly labelled packaging
• Carry 2-3 days' worth in your hand luggage in case of baggage delays, with a copy of any prescriptions. Comply with Hand luggage restrictions at UK airports
• Carry the remainder in your hold luggage
• Check the expiry dates of your medicines will be valid for the duration of the event
• It's a good idea to travel with a letter from your GP that has details of your medicine and the name of the health condition that you need the medicine for (GP practices may charge for this service)
• Not carry more than for 3 months' use
• Follow Scouts' guidance around storage and administration of medication, especially for under-18 year old participants

Information sourced from the NHS website.

Medical equipment and devices

Ensure you have:

• Consumables for at least 20 days' use
• If electrical: spare battery packs (hand luggage) and plug adapters
• Instructions for use and troubleshooting failures
• Made sure CMT, PL and Path Leader are aware

All participants should have access to some spending money for optional purchases such as snacks and gifts.

Since Norway and Denmark are near-cashless societies and both use different currencies, we recommend all participants should bring a debit/credit card instead of cash. Make sure you look for a card with no fee for international use.

Patrol Leaders and Assistants will receive a pre-paid Equals card for planned spending, such as meals out in Copenhagen, and emergencies.

Mobile phones are vital while travelling abroad. You need to consider how to keep yours powered for the entire event.

You should plan to have self-sufficient power. Some paths may have electricity access, and there may be some access to power on the main site, but this will be limited and in demand.

Here are some top tips when bringing portable chargers or battery packs:

• Must be carried in hand luggage
• Maximum capacity 100 Wh or 27,000 mAh per charger
• Compare your charger's capacity to your phone battery's capacity to know how many charges you'll get
• Clearly name your chargers to easily identify them at charging stations

You might also look at solar chargers to keep your patrol fully self-sufficient.

It's important to keep the information we hold about you up-to-date - especially contact information, medical details and emergency contacts. Using your EventsAir account details to login, please check and update your personal details.

Here's a reminder of some key tasks to complete before Roverway:

1. Review patrol, path and event risk assessments and share with your patrol members.
2. Submit a Nights Away Notification form to your County/Nation at least 7 days before departure
3. Ensure your patrol members have completed all training requirements including Safe From Harm
4. Organise the patrol kit from our kit list (including planning tent-sharing in line with safeguarding rules)
5. Plan transport to your UK departure airport on 22 July, and from your UK arrival airport on 5 August
6. Collect digital copies of your patrol members' passports and GHICs, and upload to a cloud storage that you can access abroad

For assistance with any of the above tasks, ask your County/Nation contact, your CMT Mentor or submit a Support Form.

From 22-27 July, participants will explore a 'path' in Southern Norway, and maybe even in Denmark or Sweden. UK patrols will join around 5 patrols from other countries, under the supervision of International Service Team (IST) and Norwegian Scout Groups.

One of the highlights of Roverway is the opportunity for young people to truly shape their experience – and the variety of paths (up to 100 in total) will cater for many different interests. Path descriptions, risk assessments and contingency plans can be found here.

Travel

Travel from your arrival airport in Norway to your path start point will be by coach or public transport organised by Travel Places. On 27 July, your entire path with travel together Stavanger main camp by coach organised by the Roverway 2024 planning team - your Path Leader will let you know more information.

Where can we get support on a path?

Start by considering if your issue will be able to be dealt with by yourself, between your patrol or by your Patrol Leader.

Paths are all lead by a Path Leader - a Scout volunteer with experience in the area or activity, and Listening Ear training. They may be supported by a team of International Support Team volunteers.

For your whole time on Roverway 2024, you'll be able to submit a ticket into our Support Centre who will be able to remotely support you while on paths. The UK Contingent Management Team will be based at the Stavanger main camp and Oslo city centre, and able to travel in the event of an incident.

After 5 days on paths, all participants will come together on the main Roverway campsite at Lundsneset, Stavanger, from 27 July to 2 August.

The site itself

It's a grassy, exposed site, surrounded by sea on three sides. You can explore the site here. We're expecting 12-18°C, wind up to 15m/s, and rain 50% of the time (maybe less if there's no singing on the bus there!)

The site is mixed-use, with some permanent buildings, and you can explore the site here. Toilets and showers will all be individual cubicles.

What to expect

The main site is a melting pot of international cultures. You'll camp with the patrols from other countries that were on your path.

There will be structured and drop-in activities on each day - read more here.

Every day, someone from your patrol will collect food for the next 24 hours from your nearest of three food collection points. You might choose to cook and eat with other patrols to share stories over food. There won't be any shelter for cooking/dining areas.

On-site facilities include food shops, a camping equipment shop, cafes including the Rainbow Cafe (a safe space for LGBT+ members and allies) and food houses (where you can buy international food from other contingents).

There's likely to be a structured visit to Stavanger city. General access off-site is restricted, with rules and boundaries in place. All the exciting stuff plus everything you need can be found on site - you really won't want to leave!

There won't be a Wi-Fi network, but there is very good 4/5G coverage across Norway – far better than we are used to in the UK. Check roaming packages and consider upgrading or purchasing an eSIM.

A closing ceremony on 1 August will mark the end of the 11 days of Norwegian adventure, and the UK Contingent will travel to our post-event on 2 August.

The final part of Roverway is the post-event, which sees the UK Contingent come together for a shared and unique experience.

After leaving the Roverway site, we're holding an exclusive day of activities for the UK Contingent called Strandfest! Read more on the Strandfest blog.

We'll then catch the overnight ferry to Denmark and travel via coach to the capital city, Copenhagen, arriving around midday. You'll have 2 full days to explore before returning home on Monday 5 August.

You can start to plan your patrol's itinerary using information from the Copenhagen blog.

The legal age for consuming or acquiring tobacco products in Norway and Denmark (including vaping if containing tobacco) is 18 years old.

There will be limited smoking areas defined on paths and at the main site. Smoking is not permitted in any other area, or in any indoor space.

Roverway 2024 can be used towards one or more of the following Top Award requirements:

• Residential section of the Duke of Edinburgh's Gold Award and King's Scout Award
• An international activity towards your Chief Scout's Platinum, Diamond or King's Scout Award ICV lists
• Nights away towards your Chief Scout's Platinum, Diamond or King's Scout Award

These requirements can be signed off by the PL for their patrol members, and by the CMT for PLs.

The UK Contingent fee for UK-based participants is £1,999.

The fee includes:

• Issued kit package
• Travel from the UK to Norway
• Meals
• In-country travel from arrival airport to path, path to main site and main site to Copenhagen
• Roverway 2024 event cost
• Post-event in Copenhagen
• Return travel from Copenhagen
• Roverway on Tour and Patrol Leader Academy events.

Your fee is collected by your County/Nation/BSO, so speak to your local supporting leader for any financial questions. Counties, Nations and BSO may add to the UK Contingent fee, to cover local training, preparation events and other logistics.

We've provided means-tested grants worth £30,000 from our Inclusion Fund for World Scouting events towards individual fees.

Fundraising

Fundraising is an essential part of any international adventure. You can fundraise individually, as a patrol or a mix of both.

Check out some tips and tricks on our Build-up Blog.

This information was first shared as part of recruitment. We're re-sharing it to be a handrail for what to expect in the role.

A Patrol Leader (PL) is responsible for leading each patrol, with the support of an Assistant Patrol Leader (APL), IST and CMT, to help ensure that the patrol has an enjoyable and safe event. This includes to:

• Manage the patrol, ensuring deadlines are met and all members of the patrol are aware of decisions.
• Be the main contact for communications with the CMT, and distribute information to relevant parties (e.g. patrol members, parents/guardians, local Scouts teams).
• Attend UK Contingent preparation and training events.
• Nurture a strong patrol identity and facilitate the building of strong connections within the patrol, so that every member feels valued and respected.
• Encourage patrol fundraising.
• Support their patrol on event, making sure they are fit, fed and well supported, escalating any problems or concerns as they arise.
• Share your Roverway experience with others to encourage participation in future international experiences.
• Contribute to the Roverway review and feedback process. 

The role of PL does not include in loco parentis responsibility for patrol members, which lies with the CMT during the event.

Patrol Leaders are responsible for deciding their patrol's sleeping arrangements, remembering the following:

• Over 18 and under 18 year olds must not share the same tent
• A young person who turns 18 during the event must be treated as under 18 for the duration of Roverway (POR 4.3.1.3)
• Mixed-gender sharing is allowed
• All young people and their parents/carers should be happy with the sleeping situation
• Make sure you have enough space for all patrol members to sleep and store luggage (usually achieved by treating kit as 1 person, e.g. 3 people in a 4-person tent).

Due to our safeguarding requirements, we have agreed with the Norway planning team that there is no maximum number of tents for UK Contingent patrols. However, there is a request to optimise tent sizes to take up as little space as possible.

Further guidance can be found in our Nights Away and Camping guidance.

This document provides the role and training requirements for participants attending Roverway 2024 which should be in place by 1 April 2024.

You may notice additional modules from the adult training scheme on your Compass Personal Learning Plan (PLP). These are outside our control, but are not required for Roverway. You may find them useful in this and other roles, and can get more information from a local Training Adviser.

There is a risk of ticks and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) in parts of Norway. Make sure you read guidance from Scouts and the NHS including some tick tips:

• Avoid long grass
• Wear long clothes
• Use insect repellent on exposed skin
• Check skin and clothes regularly for ticks
• Carry fine-toothed tweezers or a tick removal device in your first aid kit

You may be advised to take certain vaccinations to visit Norway. You should speak to your GP or a medical professional.