NATIONAL COMPETITION IN SURVIVAL SKILLS

Activities after the competition:​

• debate and presentation of optimal solutions to tasks from the competition,
• archery, throwing axes, shurikens, javelins,
• a shorter workshop by the organizer; this year’s theme: ropes made of natural materials
• bonfire, preparing your own beds (hammocks, bivouacs, sleeping bags, or other equipment of your choice), socializing,
• overnight stay, announcement of results and awarding of prizes on the second day (if someone leaves the previous evening, the prizes will be awarded later).

RULES:

There can be 2 to 4 people in the group. Registration of four people is recommended, as larger groups usually have an advantage in performing individual tasks and thus in achieving a greater number of points. All groups are in the same category regardless of group size.

As already mentioned, the tasks will consist of many survival skills: orientation, lighting a fire, identifying tracks, edible and useful plants, mushrooms, making bivouacs, products from natural materials, archery, etc. The details of the tasks will be known only at the competition itself. A lot will depend not only on the knowledge itself, the ingenuity and skills of the groups but also on luck. This encourages those who do not have that much experience, but who are interested in this topic, to participate in the competition. The tasks are extremely varied and encourage team spirit, they are made according to the principle of team building.

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MANDATORY EQUIPMENT FOR COMPETITORS:

The whole group:

• a camera with a blank memory card, because the competition will require photographing plants, animals, tracks and activities. After completing the tasks, the images are uploaded to the organizer’s laptop, where the images will be reviewed and evaluated,
• notebook,
• pen,
• hand saw (rental option)

Individual – for competition:

• suitable clothing and footwear,

  knife (blade length max. 15 cm).

Individual – other:​

• equipment for spending the night in the forest of your choice (e.g. sleeping bag + hammock / tent wing, etc.),
• menagerie or similar,
• food and drink

With the exception of the camera, the use of other electronic devices (e.g. mobile phones) is not permitted in the competition. Everyone is responsible for food and drink, there will be drinking water on site.

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MORE DETAILED PROGRAM:

The competition consists of two parts:

• A: Orienteering

The course will be shorter this year, only about 3-4 km. During the journey, it is necessary to gather grass and a limited amount of edible plants (to be used in subsequent tasks), and above all to record useful and edible plants or mushrooms and to describe possible animal tracks. For this purpose, census sheets are obtained, and all observations are photographed as proof (thus avoiding unnecessary plucking and destruction). Along the way there are also points with tasks, e.g. orientation without a compass. Otherwise, this part is more left to one’s own skill, faster groups can use any excess time to record plants, etc.

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• B: Base Camp

In the second set, there are several specific tasks that are performed in the same place, so this part is less physically demanding. This part includes activities such as making fire in primitive ways, various fireplaces, cooking, making a bivouac, ropes, traps, torches, dishes, various tools/weapons, archery, etc., there will also be a little bit of theory. Since there will probably be quite a few things that the contestants have never done before, the instructors/assessors can partially help beginner groups, and the group’s improvisation and imagination will come to the fore.

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Each task is separately evaluated with points and roughly coincides with how much time is allocated for the task. Each group draws which set (A or B) to start with in the morning and with which in the afternoon. All groups finish at the base camp, where dinner and other activities follow. On the second day, after breakfast, there is an awards ceremony (at 9 am), and at the request of the participants, various survival skills are practiced and tested together with the instructors until the official end at 12 noon.