GOLCAR Scouts are celebrating after they were crowned the best in thedistrict.

The 4th Golcar (Huddersfield) Scout Troop beat nine others to take the Huddersfield South West District.

During 2010 they competed in seven district events and won first place in six of them. The Scouts got off to a flying start last January when they won the district table tennis competition.

In March they ‘steamed’ ahead in both the district and West Yorkshire County cooking competitions, taking first place in both.

In May they competed in a number of different sports including, horse shoe throwing, three legged race and the tug-of-war, with Golcar coming home in first place.

The troop also took part in the District Expedition Challenge and I’m a Scout, Get Me Out of Here! event which included go carts, mucky lucky dip and the ever popular eating bugs and insects base.

Danny, 13, who took part in the Marsden based expedition hike last June, said: “As part of the training before the event, we got to learn about maps, compasses and trangias (outdoor stoves). Lots of people got lost, but using our navigation skills we kept on the right track.”

In November two teams from Golcar joined the District Capers competition where the challenge was to get from Holme Mills, West Slaithwaite to Scammonden Scout Activity Centre using their navigational skills, without being caught by the many teams of Explorer Scouts who were soon on their trail.

The teams did Golcar proud by coming both third and first in the competition. The final event of the year was the District Scout Quiz.

Golcar Scouts have never previously won this event, so when the results were announced the teams celebrated.

Craig Ellis, Group Scout Leader said: “The Scouts did extremely well throughout 2010. The troop had no extra training or practices in the events that were held, they just turned up and gave it their best shot.

“It’s nice to see their efforts rewarded by being overall winners of Huddersfield South West District. They are a credit to their families and the group.”

Winning the Top Troop Trophy was one of the many highlights for the Golcar Scouts. In April they announced a record 17.24% membership increase in the group, bringing total membership to 145.

In July 40 members of the Scout Troop jetted off for a 10 day adventure in the Swiss Alps joining 1,500 other Scouts from across the world at the Kandersteg International Scout Centre to celebrate Swiss National Day and Yorkshire Day on August 1.

The trip was described by a number of Scouts as ‘a trip of a lifetime’.

To find out more about joining Scouting in Golcar visit http://4thgolcar.org.uk/join or http://scouts.org.uk/join