JOTT - Jamboree on the Trail

Jamboree On The Trail (JOTT) is an annual day for members of the World Scout Movement to hike together.  All Scouts, whatever their age and wherever they may be in the world, can participate in whatever way they can.  Originally just in Canada, the story of how JOTT started can be found at http://jott.org/History.

Also see https://jamboreeonthetrail.org/.

Scout groups in New Zealand initially participated on an ad hoc basis, through contact with the organisers in Canada or the UK.  From at least 2015, NZ participation has been more co-ordinated. See JOTT NZ | Facebook.

I visited in Canada in 2012 and saw quite a few JOTT badges, for the years 1999, 2000, 2008, 2009 and 2011, which I obtained for the Club.

The 1999, 2000, 2008 and 2009 badges were used in Canada and many other countries.  The 2011 badge, while made in Canada was not used there.  It is the design for the badge used in the United Kingdom. 

Some of the badges that have been used in New Zealand before 2014 were made in Australia. The Canadian badges can usually be identified as the have the manufacturers name (Zone West) on the back. Australian-made badges may have a sticker from West Winds Design while NZ-made badges have a plain white backing.

JOTT badges for 2013 to 2017 (JOTT 16 to 20) form a set, as shown below:

The badges for 2018-22 are another, similar set, featuring bears.  The Polar Bear is North, the Panda East, and the Koala represents the South. JOTT 24 for 2021 will feature a Grizzly for the West and JOTT 25 will be the centre with a surprise that joins them altogether.

This year’s badge is shown in the Local Issues article in this months magazine. It forms part of a set with the badges from the past 4 years.

There are also JOTT night hike badges, with a dark shadowed background.

New Zealand Groups and Zones have been participating in this event since about 2011. I helped at this year’s Christchurch event which was attended by more than 400 from the Pegasus Bay, Torlesse and Port Hills Zones.

Since this is an annual event and we have participants throughout the country, some may wonder why these badges are not listed in the NCAI (National Commemorative and Activities) section of the catalogue. The simple answer is that the event is still essentially a local initiative, not one organised through Scouts NZ.

Rex Moir