Meeting Minutes

1|River Valley Ventures Meeting Minutes 2010

Subject Pulau Ubin Hike cum Camp Debrief Date 10-03-10
Facilitator Glenda Yew, Eric Fok, Julio Hong, Kelvin Koh, Loh Zhi Wei Time 14:30
Scrib
Location Lecture Theatre 2
e
Attendees All ventures except Eunice, Qiu Yan and Ting Xiang

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No. Title Good points / Bad points / Improvements to be made
1 Communication 1. There is a lot of time constraint due to differences in individual
timetables, hence there is no time for the I/Cs to meet up
frequently to plan.
2. The I/Cs had to resort to online discussion, which is quite inefficient
as it is difficult to visualize and avoid misinterpretations.
3. As the scouts are young and ignorant, it is hard to convey
messages to them
4. It is hard to communicate ideas to the rest of the ventures due to
the lack of details and brief overview. Some of us do not have
things to do some times during acts.
5. I/Cs have to quickly give things to ventures to do or else some
ventures will slack around and lag about
6. Briefings have to be concise and precise by planning briefing
beforehand.
At Pulau Ubin
1. Walkie talkie was worse than we thought. This became a problem
and we ended up cycling around the place, which was a waste of
time.
2. It is also taxing for both sides – the cycling teams and Zhi Wei as he
has to cycle around to get relay messages
3. Since there is little/none/Malaysia hand phone reception, it is hard
to contact each other.
4. A long time is spent discussing about the problem of walkie talkie.
5. As we rely too much on the walkie talkie, we had to come up with a
backup plan or find an alternative quickly.
6. There is good teamwork.

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No. Title Good points / Bad points / Improvements to be made
2 Planning 1. There is a lot of time constraint due to differences in individual
timetables, hence there is no time for the I/Cs to meet up frequently
to plan.
2. The admin had to oversee the whole camp.
3. Due to the time constraint (1 month to plan the camp), it tested the
I/Cs on their time management skills.
4. We were unprepared some of the time.
5. We didn’t know how to react quickly and promptly to some
problems as it was our first time organizing a camp for the scouts.
6. The advance party should have organized a layout for the campsite,
as it is super dark at night.
7. We should have balanced everything and cater to different
demands, such as sleeping time (so that at least a few ventures are
awake at any one time at night).
8. We should have gave the sec 1s something fun to do instead of
hiking such as a kids camp since they are so young and
inexperienced.
1. We should have told the sec 1s on how to pack their bag and train
them before the actual hike cum camp.
3 Organization 2. The checkpoints should have been organized better, to prevent
coinciding of checkpoints and hence avoid confusion.
3. Regarding the scouts’ food lists, we should have checked whether
the list is okay and chase after the scouts for it.
4. It was only the night before the hike when we came up with a
solution for the problem of walkie talkie.
5. It is rather time consuming relaying messages, and there was a
problem synchronizing with the cycling teams.

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No. Title Good points / Bad points / Improvements to be made
4 Logistics 1. There was a rush in shifting the equipments from the scouts room to
the bus.
2. We should have packed and labeled everything the day before the
camp, so that it would not have been so time-consuming.
3. The 16-men tent poles were left behind. However, the ventures
managed to build a temporary mini basha to replace the tent, which
displayed great teamwork!
4. In future, we have to ensure nothing is left behind.
5. Equipments are not packed properly.
6. The equipments were not given out equally -> The last patrol had to
carry 4 jerry cans and 3 ice boxes to Pulau Ubin.
7. There were not enough torch-lights or batteries to go around.
8. Individual mass tins, mass mugs, ponchos and ground sheets should
have been labeled to avoid confusion of ownership.
9. There is no proper rationing of water -> everyone had to resort to
boiling the non-potable water from Pulau Ubin the 2nd night.
10. Everyone should have used the non-potable water for cooking,
instead of the potable water that was brought over.
5 Reconnaissance trip 1. It was rather successful as we managed to cover most of the
checkpoints.
2. We also managed to find out the problem of the walkie talkies.
3. Managed to gather feedback that allowed us to better gauge the
time needed to place the checkpoints during the camp. -> Made
adjustment to the timetable.
6 Safety 1. Minor injuries were taken care of quite promptly.
2. The scouts brought first-aid kits, which is good.
3. Eric felt that he was an inexperienced first aid officer, as he didn’t
know what to do at first when there were more serious injuries.
4. We did not expect potential danger of the campsite, such as the
rocks present.
5. Scouts were not briefed on how to move the equipments -> resulted
in higher risk of injuries.
6. The scouts should have been taught on how to pass the parang and
other dangerous equipments for safety reasons.
7. We should have taken medical condition (e.g. hearing aid) into
consideration while planning the camp (not done enough).
8. As we ran out of potable water, there was a risk of dehydration.

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No. Title Good points / Bad points / Improvements to be made
7 Cycling teams 1. The cycling teams were quite efficient in patrolling.
2. There was poor communication and time synchronizing between the
teams.
8 Overall 1. Although there was time constraint in planning the camp, we
managed to finish the camp successfully.
2. References were made to the 2006 hike plan.
3. Navigation skills are super important as some of the ventures almost
got lost in the forest due to the lost of direction. It is useful to look
out for details (e.g. mangroves) when lost.
9 Simulation 1. This helps us in planning as it allows us to imagine if something
happened differently as planned.
2. Have to be creative and imaginative.
3. Safety - > What might happen? What to do?
4. Allows us to prepare for what we need.
5. There will always be unplanned emergencies -> simulation allow us
to minimize contingency and be super prepared.
6. What if we did not have enough money (to rent bikes, buy drinks
etc)-> Plan!
Simulation of briefing
1. Who to address?
2. How to capture the attention of the scouts? (Be engaging)
3. How to get them to discuss spontaneously?

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