HUNDREDS of young cubs will attend this weekend’s Wasps tie at the Ricoh Arena to celebrate 100 years of Cub Scouting.
Members of Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull Scout Counties have been invited by the high-flying Aviva Premiership squad’s tie against the Newcastle Falcons on Sunday (October 30) to mark ‘Cub 100′.
Introduced for youngsters aged between eight and ten-and-a-half, Cub Scouts was originally formed by Robert Baden-Powell to fill the need for those too young to join the Boy Scouts.
The Cubs’ Jungle Book theme was then developed by Baden-Powell’s neighbour, poet and novelist Rudyard Kipling.
Cub 100 Warwickshire is part of celebrations by the Warwickshire Scouts – whose Cub volunteers put on 87 weekly meetings for 1,700 eight to ten-and-a-half -year-olds in the region.
Over 350 cub members will be at the Ricoh Arena on match day to run out with the players, do the big shirt shake on the pitch and perform the Wasps Wiggle at half time.
It is expected 800 family and friends will also be in attendance.
Elsewhere on game day, the Coventry Scout Band and the Wasps House Band will be in the fan village before the game – bringing the Cubs’ heritage to life by playing songs based on Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book.
There will also be a recruitment stand for scouting volunteers in the fan village to help with the continuing expansion of Scouting groups across Warwickshire.
Wendy Williams, event organiser for Cub 100 Warwickshire, said reaching 100 years is a phenomenal achievement.
She added: “We are thrilled to have been invited along to one of Wasps’ match days as we really need to raise awareness of our volunteering opportunities.
“We currently have waiting lists of boys and girls wanting to take part because we do not have enough adult volunteers.
“Days out like this will help us to reach our target of recruiting an extra 100 volunteers.
“The cub scouts is an incredibly rewarding experience for both the children and adults.
“Members get to have fun, try new things, learn new skills and meet new people – while adults get great satisfaction of helping youngsters to develop and grow.”
Match day will also see the Cub 100 Warwickshire formally announced as Wasps’ first non-rugby affiliate club.
Verity Brown, community development manager at Wasps, said: “We’re delighted to be starting a partnership with Warwickshire Scouting.
“Becoming an affiliate will enable the Cubs to receive a donation back for every ticket their members purchase as part of our cash back scheme – further helping them to carry out other activities in the local area.”
