What to Expect

New to SWC? Don’t worry—we’ve all been there. Here’s how to make the most of your first weekend…

What to Expect at an SWC Weekend?

The Patrol Experience

Team Up: You’ll join (or form) a patrol of 6–8 leaders.

Create Your Identity: Patrols bring their own theme, costumes, cheer, flag, and totems. Creativity is half the fun!

Friendly Competition: Patrols compete in challenges, games, and activities to earn points toward the coveted Honor Patrol title or the Spirit Patrol award.

A Weekend Packed with Fun and Camaraderie

Games & Challenges: Saturday morning is filled with team-based games that test skills, teamwork, and quick thinking.

Campwide Game: Saturday afternoon brings a large, all-patrol challenge that gets everyone involved.

Beads & Claws: Earn colorful beads for participating in events and add a signature claw to your necklace each year you attend.

Saturday Night Dinner and Campfire

Saturday night’s campwide dinner is a highlight. Patrols bring their meals to the dining hall, decorate their tables with creative, theme-based displays, and share desserts with other patrols.

After dinner, we move to the campfire for stories, skits, game awards, and the annual claw ceremony.

Traditions and Recognition

Honor Patrol: Awarded to the highest-scoring patrol across all competitions and events.

Spirit Patrol: Voted on by patrol leaders for enthusiasm, teamwork, and Scout spirit.

Silver Claw: A special recognition for our exiting Scoutmaster who has shown years of dedication to S.W.C.

White Claw: awarded to the entire camp when snow falls during the weekend

Weather and Camping

January in the North Georgia mountains means cold-weather camping—so come prepared. Layered clothing, warm gear, and a good attitude are essential.

Campsites are shared spaces, so Leave No Trace principles are always in effect.

Campsite Inspections are performed by the staff and are a judged event.

Patrols are invited to bring their creativity and innovation to their campsite pioneering project.

Fellowship, above all else

From Friday’s Colossal Cobb Café to Sunday’s Scout’s Own Service, every moment is about connection, learning, and fun.

You’ll leave with new skills, new friends, and stories you’ll be sharing all year.

First-Timer Tips

Join or Form a Patrol Early
Connect with other leaders before the event or join a provisional patrol at check-in. Your patrol will be your team for games, meals, and competitions.
Embrace the Theme
Costumes, cheers, flags, and totems aren’t just fun—they’re part of the S.W.C. spirit! The more creative you are, the more memorable your weekend will be.
Pack for Cold Weather
January in North Georgia can mean sunny afternoons or icy mornings. Dress in layers, bring waterproof gear, and plan for temperatures to dip overnight.
Come Ready to Participate
Whether it’s games, campfire skits, or the Good Turn Project, S.W.C. is all about jumping in. Participation not only earns beads but also creates lasting memories.
Don’t Stress if You’re New
Many patrols are full of first-timers. The event is designed to welcome you, teach you, and get you comfortable with the patrol method.
Bring Extra Scout Spirit
The best patrols don’t just win—they cheer, laugh, and lift each other up. Show your enthusiasm and you might just earn the Spirit Patrol Award.

Before You Register

Who Can Attend? Adult registered leaders, ages 18+, see Participant Packet for details.
Registration Deadlines & Pricing: Registration opens September 1, 2025. Cost is $30 per person, due during registration. One Patrol leader will register the entire patrol. You may add/change patrol members until SWC check-in time.
Don’t Have a Patrol? Form/join a Patrol on our SWC facebook page, or contact the SWC SPL about finding a patrol to join!

What Should You Expect?

One scout leader's perspective

You will arrive and your patrol leader will check your patrol in, medical forms and all. You will set up your tent and campsite and as a patrol (hopefully) and head to the dining hall for a nice dinner, compliments of your SWC staff. (—personally, I like the chili! —) Fellowship, excitement, put up your display board so others can get to know your group. But, there is a tradition. “STUMP THE BUBBA” A BUBBA is an OLD Scouter, set in their ways, grumpy, and just kidding. The BUBBA Patrol is a group of Scouters who band together and camp as a patrol. Their goal is to supplement the staff at SWC if asked, no task is out of bounds. At Friday Fellowship, they have a table and ask questions. If you can answer their trivia question you get a bubba-bead, the coveted BUBBA BEAD may I add (yes, I have one). After they ask their question, you can ask a trivia question also. Giving you the opportunity to STUMP THE BUBBA! All good fun. The remainder of the night is at your patrol campfire or in your tent and in the morning, you and your patrol make breakfast and prepare for the opening ceremony. Maybe an hour because EVERYONE gets to say hello to everyone! During the day there are Patrol Games, the camp-wide game, conservation project, and a few other things that are just plain fun. How do you know when it is time to head to the next game, well, the train whistle blasts of course? Yes, it is loud enough to hear anywhere in the camp. Lunch is at your patrol site and you can start prepping for the mass dinner. All patrols will be assigned a table in the dining hall and you can set it up as you see fit. It is judged! Your dinner is for your patrol, but sharing is not frowned upon and you will have a few staff members joining you for dinner. After dinner is the AWARD ceremony and the patrol leader heads up to collect the beads your patrol won during the day. Afterward, we all head to the campfire ring for the campfire, and each patrol is requested…strongly requested… to do a skit or song at the campfire. The presenting of the claws will also take place towards the end of the campfire. FYI, smart people bring something to sit on, the seats are HARD-COLD-CEMENT. So, be a smart person and bring a cushion. After campfire you head back to the activity field where you can gaze are the sky. An astronomy club will be there (weather permitting) and you can collect a bead. The Davis Inn hike is fun and there is a surprise when you get there, other than another bead of course. Sunday morning is opening and goodbye. Will not go into it here, you need to experience it! Also, Scout’s Own service. The choir, music, and planning are by the participants. Donations go to World Scouting. Lastly, you pack up and head home. On the way home you will most likely call each other and talk about the weekend. Stop for lunch and find people from the weekend sitting there eating. It happens…. The big thing to remember is when you get home, recruit others for next year. Start planning your patrol, meals, duties, and who will be the patrol leader. The rest will all fall into place as you find yourself putting it on the calendar the day after you return home. SWC is a fun time, in the woods, in the North Georgia Mountains, with a few hundred of your (new and old) friends.

Contributed by: Chris Cancilla (CRITTER Patrol)