The census figures for January 2001 showed a considerable improvement on the previous year with a net loss of just 1 Scout compared to 53, it would be quite an achievement to buck the national trend if we could turn that negative number into a positive one next January.
We still have two dormant Troops at the 1^st Mitcham and the 36^th Mitcham and while it is hoped that the 1^st will be re-launched this spring there seems to be little cause for optimism of improvement in the status of the 36^th for the foreseeable future. Several other Troops are desperately short of adult help and it is to the credit of the leaders of those Troops that they continue to provide exciting Scouting despite the heavy load that the understaffing brings.
We also have 2 Troops who reported membership of less than 5 Scouts at the last census and although both have reported increases since, their precarious position cannot be overlooked.

Having got all of the bad news out of the way first, I can now concentrate on the many positive and encouraging achievements within the Scout section during 2000. The first is that 7 of our 13 active Troops actually increased their numbers and in addition we have a number of new faces amongst the section leadership. We welcome those who have come forward to help with front-line Scouting, some have previous experience while others do not but I hope that they all enjoy themselves and feel that the time they are giving up is rewarding to themselves as well as to the Scouts in their charge.

We have run a full programme of District activities in the last year and it is good to see some Troops attending events for the first time.

The first event in our 2000 calendar was the Handball and although the level of interest registered by the entry date was poor, the event was reasonably well supported on the day with several last minute entries. The winners were the 3^rd Mitcham and the event was organised by Richard Mainwaring and Andy Edmonds.

The Incident Hike attracted a good level of interest that justified the effort that Andy and Phil Stentiford put into it. The day was spent sliding around in the mud and dodging the showers as well as navigating the route and tackling the challenges and the worthy winners were the 1^st Morden closely followed by the 5^th Mitcham.

The Five-a-Side Football was flooded with entries as usual and the games were played in good spirit with us again using volunteer referees from the Surrey League. The greatest obstacle of the afternoon was battling with the lack of forethought by the Lavender Fields staff who had padlocked the goals to the fence and none of them had a key. A review of the venue for 2001 is under way as a result. Away from the organisational challenges, the 3^rd Mitcham took home the trophy and the 5^th Mitcham were again the runners-up.

The Camping Competition at Bears Wood was actually two events run side-by-side. We had 5 teams taking part in the traditional competition and 3 others being assessed against the Camping Standard. This dual marking resulted in a lot of work for the judges but did have the desired effect of increasing the number of Scouts who attended the weekend despite the fact that the date clashed with England's Euro 2000 match with Germany. The Camping Trophy was won by the 20^th Mitcham followed by the 1^st Morden & the 6/12^th Mitcham who also took home the cooking trophy. In the Camping Standard we were pleased to award 3 Silver and 4 Bronze certificates. Congratulations to those Troops who have maintained such good camping skills and to England who won 1-0.

The format for the County Camping weekend was the same as for our camp and I was pleased that four of our Troops shrugged off petrol shortages, bread rationing and the onset of the monsoon season to represent Wandle at Boider Hurst in September. The 6/12^th Mitcham took second place in the competition, the 20^th Mitcham were 4^th and the two teams from the 1^st Morden came in 5^th and 6^th. The 6/12^th Mitcham were victorious in the cooking competition and the 1^st Morden Tigers gained a 100% score in the First Aid.
In the Camping Standard, Silver was gained by the 1^st Morden Tigers, 6/12^th Mitcham and 20^th Mitcham with the 1^st Morden Lions and 11^th Mitcham taking home Bronze.
Camping is a core Scouting activity and I am pleased that Wandle Troops still make it an important part of their programmes and that we are able to support our own District event at a time when the majority of our GLSW colleagues have dropped it. The 2001 event will be held on 9^th & 10^th June at Bears Wood and I would encourage as many Troops as possible to come along and enjoy the experience.

Our final event was the Quiz, which usually used as a chance to see which Troop can make the greatest amount of noise while at the same time answering 90 questions on a wide range of subjects.
Battling against the wall of sound, the scorers eventually worked out that the winners were the 5^th Morden, followed by the 5^th Mitcham and 11^th Mitcham.

It has been a busy year for the section and the enthusiasm that the Scouts have for our activities mean that what we do is just as equally worthwhile for the adults. I would like to thank all of the leaders for their commitment and dedication in what they do within their Troops and the overtime that they put in running District events and attending the regular Scouters' meetings. Thanks also to Andy who is now full time DSL devising most of our activities after leaving the 20^th Mitcham following more than 20 years with the Troop.

Paul Atkins
ADC (Scouts)