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| IST | Schedule | Travel | Logo | Fees | Gear | Arrival | Money | ISTour | Terminology | Preparation |
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ArrivalBSA has sent what they refer to as the "IST final letter" and "Travel Group Check-in Form". I see I did get a few minor details wrong, but for the most part you should be good to go. Some highlights:
I have a few thoughts on the list above. I suspect wifi will be for a fee, you pay for a password. They say charging stations are at a fee, but IST may be able to sneak their plugs into outlets at the tents where they work, so look for that. Sweden has put together a mess kit of a collapsible bowl, a cup and a spork. I would not be surprised if those are handed out to IST and the need for a mess kit is exaggerated. We'll see what laundry service means (but, hey, they have a sauna, so why not?). One reason I'm dubious about the laundry service is there is no location on the official site map of a laundry area that I've been able to find. You medical form is a BSA medical form. The Swedes really aren't going to care about BSA forms, so I really think this is one of those check off items that isn't really going to be a show stopper, but bring it anyway. The mandatory IST training is listed as taking place 26-27 July. This differs from what the Swedes had published of 25-26 July. I had been somewhat amused that the Swedes thought they could commence training on IST arrival day, and I remain somewhat amused that the Swedes think they can continue training on contingent arrival day. After we check in with the Swedes, we are to go to the BSA HQ tent to pick up our tent and name plate. I anticipate this will be somewhat problematic as well. The word is the transport from entry on site to IST camping area will be by shuttle and I suspect no one thought to tell the Swedes the USA IST have to make a stop halfway between. My best guess is you may want to plan on a bit of a walk to get to the BSA HQ. My recommendation, if this is not provided for, is to take the bus to the IST camping area, drop your gear there and walk back to the USA HQ tent to get your tent. The alternative, getting dropped off at the USA HQ tent and lugging your gear to the IST camping area, may be a bit less pleasant. Remember: expect chaos. A *lot* of people are arriving that day and the ability to get individual service will be seriously strained. Enjoy the ride, and get to know the people around you. Hand out gifts of patches, pins or other bling. Make friends. That is what you are there for! Be sure to check back on the IST Experience website frequently for updates. See http://istexperience.simplyscouting.se/. I note this was not mentioned on the letter from BSA. It won't get completely dark, so you will not be in the dark setting up your tent when you get there. Relax, don't get anxious and concentrate on enjoying yourself rather than stressing about arrival. 5000 IST are arriving that day, so things will be chaotic, why add to the stress? Around 13 April, BSA began sending out a notification asking IST to go to a website to let them know their arrival time. If you did not receive the notification, look up your registration number (on prior emails from BSA) and go to the website referenced on the link and fill it in. If you are unable to do so, you need to contact BSA *NOW*. It is somewhat confusing because, as predicted, it assumes you are flying in that day and wants your flight number. For those of us getting there earlier, we don't have a flight number. I also recommend a mid to late afternoon time so you can have a "last meal" away from the Jamboree site where the food will quickly become tiresome. Be in uniform to make yourself easy to spot. I also recommend you choose an early departure time from Jamboree. Again, it assumes you have a flight time and flight on 8 August, so you will need to make something up if you are not flying that day or have a late flight. By leaving early, you can avoid much of the later rush for the day and have some leisure time at Copenhagen. I really have no recommendation for what to put for your flight numbers if you are not flying those days. I put ??, but you could probably just make something up, or even look up flights that arrive or depart at about the time you want to actually leave the airport and arrive back. 8 August - Departure day Again, we have no hard data yet, but I think IST will be told they cannot leave until the morning of 8 Aug. They will then board transportation to Copenhagen that takes one hour and forty-five minutes. There will likely be sign ups available at some point to select your departure time, and I suspect the earliest buses won't leave until after 8am or so. However, there will be about 5,000 IST leaving that day, and the odds are pretty high that he will have to wait a bit for a bus even if you sign up for an early one. Again, relax, reflect on your prior two weeks and spend some time chatting with folks from other countries about their own experiences. Much more fun than being bored, really! You can probably count on leaving the site by 10am, which puts you in Copenhagen airport at about 11:45. Given international flights want airport arrival three hours before the flight, I would strongly recommend against scheduling anything before a 14:45 departure. Consider airlines like easyjet or air berlin to get to an airport with more flexible times (Easyjet has an 8pm flight to Gatwick that is quite inexpensive, and your options from Gatwick are much more varied than from Copenhagen), but I would suggest you plan on staying the night in Copenhagen, do some laundry, have a nice meal, relax and reflect. I do have some things on the ISTour schedule for that afternoon if anyone wants to join me. See the ISTour link. The Participant's Guide states that IST are expected to arrive 25 July and depart 8 Aug. However, I have reliable information that the restaurants will be fully functional after 20 July, so early arrival should not be a problem. On the other hand, the transport from Copenhagen airport will not be operating before 25 July, so there could be a bit of a challenge getting to the site earlier than that. The transport drop off is in the area called "Tivoli" (see map on Preparation page). Therefore, you have about a 1.5 mile walk to the IST camp. During the Swedish National Jamboree at the same site, the Swedes had busses running between the drop-off and the IST area, so you may be in luck. On the other hand, they may not yet have things organized on 25 July, so a walk with your gear may be in the cards for you. The Participant's guide also states that you will either take a train or a bus from Copenhagen airport. So that is still unknown. My guess is that the Swedes will have trains reserved for IST to Kristianstad and busses from the Kristianstad train station. But then, I'm only right most of the time :-). Here is an important word of advice: Don't stress about getting there, concentrate on enjoying yourself and get there when you get there. If you are late, you will not be the only one, and if you are early they won't be ready for you and you may miss some meals. Here is a second important word of advice: EXPECT CHAOS! Everyone involved with the Jamboree has a specific job, and on IST arrival day the idea of having all those jobs coordinated is almost laughable. In 2007, IST were directed to come to the official airport nearest Jamboree and transport from there would be provided. There were also some pickup points in England to transport to the jamboree site. For 2011 in Sweden, IST will be directed to fly to Copenhagen and board a shuttle to the Jamboree site. The arrival date for IST is Monday, 25 July, 2011 (get used to those days coming before months, this is Europe, after all). You can arrive any time during the day, but, if 1999, 2003 and 2007 are any indicators the first meal provided at no charge will be the evening meal on 25 July. Therefore, it may not be advisable to try to arrive too early, as things are usually pretty chaotic at the site during that time period and finding breakfast or lunch may be a bit challenging. We suggest that if you arrive in Copenhagen before noon on 25 July that you relax, find a nice restaurant for lunch, get yourself some food and maybe even pick up some snacks to take to the Jamboree, and wait for an afternoon train. Anyone interested in getting in a bit early is welcome to join me, Donald Roberts (robertsd@sbcglobal.net), for a bit of touring. See the travel page for more details on my ISTour itinerary. Another important point on arrival is that you are likely to have to lug your gear a good distance. In 2007, the drop off point was about 1.5 miles from the camp where most IST were to spend their next two weeks (it became quite a bit further after the contingents arrived and you could no longer walk through their camping areas). It was wet, muddy, and bags with rollers didn't really help much. It also happened to be gently up-hill. DO NOT OVER PACK! My main regret for 2007 was I did not bring a pair of Wellington boots, the mud got to be really bad in the high traffic areas and they would have done much to keep my clothing cleaner and, therefore, require less time washing my clothes in the sinks. If you wear my USA IST badge (logo page) on your right shoulder, those of us in the IST will know each other and it would be an easy way to connect. Show your solidarity and get the badge! They make great trading items as well (as will the pins). Contact Donald Roberts for more information. When you go to WSJ, it is good to have some business cards to hand out to people (you will definitely get some). You can use this document as a sample to build your own. 50 to 100 cards is probably about the right number (5 to 10 sheets printed on your printer). |
The concentration is on getting things set up for contingent arrival on 27 July. Be patient!