At a camporee there is music, worship, food, and friendship. But there is one part that makes your Unit's heart beat faster: the field test. It is the moment when everything you trained at the meetings turns into points on the scoresheet, in front of a judge with a stopwatch in hand.
The field test is not luck. It is a circuit of stations, each one testing a concrete skill: pitching the tent on time, tying the right knot, lighting the fire and boiling the water, caring for an injured person, finding north with the compass. Those who train well, score well. It is that simple.
This guide is for both sides of the stopwatch. If you are a Pathfinder or a Counselor, you will learn how to train the Unit station by station. If you organize the camporee, you will see how to set up the stations, write the criteria, and make sure the judges are fair to every Club.
What the field test is and why it exists
The field test is the qualifying circuit of the camporee. Picture a trail with several tents or points spread across the campground. At each point there is a station: a practical challenge, a judge, and a stopwatch. Your Unit moves from station to station, performs the task, and receives a grade. In the end, the grades add up to the Club's score.
It is different from the other parts of the camporee. The general camporee activities are the big picture: outings, shows, worship services, recreational games. Preparing for the camporee is the logistics: what to pack, how to set up camp, documents and meals. The field test is one specific thing: to test, with criteria, whether the Pathfinder has mastered the skills of their Class.
Why does this matter? Because the Pathfinder program was never only theory. You study the knot in the Classes, but the knot is only useful if it really holds weight, in the wind, with a cold hand. The field test takes the skill off the paper and puts it under pressure. That is where you find out what you truly learned.
There is also a strong formative side. The station forces you to stay calm, divide tasks, and trust the friend beside you. A Unit that trained together knows who ties, who times their own team, who organizes the material. That is leadership in miniature, and it is worth it for a lifetime.
The most common stations in the circuit
Every camporee sets up its own set of stations, but there is a core that almost always repeats. Knowing this core helps you train ahead of time, without depending on knowing the exact list.
Here are the classic stations and what is usually required at each one:
| Station | What is evaluated |
|---|---|
| Pitching a tent on time | Tent standing, taut and firm, within the time, with no slack in the stakes |
| Knots and lashings | Correct knot for the function (anchor bend, sheet bend, clove hitch), firmness and speed |
| Fire and boiled water | Lighting with few matches and boiling a volume of water until it bubbles |
| First aid | Assess the scene, immobilize, dress a wound, transport the injured person safely |
| Compass orientation | Find north, follow a bearing, and reach the correct point |
| Drill | Marching, commands, alignment, and synchrony of the Unit |
| Pioneering | Build a lashed structure (table, tower, gateway) that is firm and on time |
| Nature identification | Recognize plants, tracks, leaves, or stars and constellations |
Notice that the stations blend body, mind, and teamwork. Some depend on strength and coordination, like pioneering. Others depend on calm and memory, like identifying plants or reading the night sky. A balanced Unit trains all of them, not just the favorites.
How to train the Unit station by station
Field test training has a golden rule: repetition with a stopwatch. Teaching the knot once and thinking it is ready does not work. The Pathfinder needs to tie the knot dozens of times, until the hand does it on its own. The Counselor times it and records the progress. Week after week, the time drops.
Divide the roles within the Unit. On the tent, someone spreads the canvas, two drive the stakes, one raises the structure. Everyone knows their post before reaching the station. That way no one bumps into anyone and the time plummets. A good meeting agenda reserves a fixed block of technical training every week, so the skill does not rust.
Simulate the pressure. Training in the calm hall is easy; the real station has a judge watching, noise, sun, and a running stopwatch. Run rehearsals where another Unit watches, or the Director observes in silence taking notes. The Pathfinder learns to keep the technique even with an audience. This reduces the famous mental blank when it counts.
For knots, lashings, and pioneering, go from simple to complex. First the knot on its own. Then the lashing that joins two poles. Only then the whole structure. If you want support material, start with the fundamentals in our guides to knots and lashings and pioneering, and take the rope home: those who train during the week arrive strong at the camporee.
For the orientation station, train the compass in open country, with real bearings and a marked arrival point. For star identification, take advantage of a clear camp night and teach the constellations visible to the naked eye. Observing the night sky with the Unit turns theory into something that truly stays in memory.
Read alsoThe Classic Activities of a CamporeeThe first aid station: awareness, not a substitute
The first aid station usually weighs heavily in the scoring, and rightly so: it is the skill that can truly save a life at a camp. But here is the most important warning in this guide: what is trained at the Club is awareness and basic notions. It does not replace a formal first aid course, much less professional care.
In a real emergency, the first action is to call for help. Dial your local emergency number (in Brazil, SAMU answers at 192 and the Fire Department at 193). The Pathfinder who knows how to stay calm, protect the scene, and call for help has already done the most important thing. The station trains exactly that sequence: assess, protect, call for help, care within your limit.
In the circuit, judges usually simulate a scenario: someone sprained an ankle, cut a hand, or fainted. The Unit must assess the situation, immobilize without worsening the injury, apply a clean dressing, and transport the injured person on an improvised stretcher, without jolting. Working in pairs or trios, with clear communication, is worth more than haste.
Train with a Counselor who knows the subject, and whenever possible invite a health professional from the community to a meeting. If your camporee includes resuscitation notions, seek truly qualified guidance. A poorly learned rescue skill is dangerous; well learned, it is a gift for the rest of your life.
Judging criteria and the scoresheet
The soul of a fair field test is the criteria scoresheet. Before the camporee, the organizers write, for each station, exactly what earns points and what loses them. No grading by gut feeling. The judge checks objective items: did the tent stand? Are the stakes firm? Is the knot the correct one for the function? Did the water actually boil?
A common model divides the grade into blocks. One part for correct execution (the right technique), one part for time (within the limit scores full, delays deduct), and one part for teamwork and safety (did the Unit organize itself? did anyone get hurt? was the material cared for?). Adding the blocks gives the station's grade.
Make the criteria public before the test. When each Club knows in advance how it will be evaluated, complaints drop and everyone trains for what matters. Secrecy in the scoresheet breeds distrust; transparency breeds respect. Publish the rubric along with the camporee rules.
Also define ties and penalties from the start. What happens if two Units post the same time? Is the tie broken by technical quality? And if someone uses forbidden material, or an adult helps beyond what is allowed? The penalty must be written down. A rule agreed beforehand avoids a fight afterward.
For organizers: setting up the stations and choosing the judges
If you are on the organizing side, setting up the stations begins long before the camporee. Make a map of the circuit: where each station goes, the distance between them, where the line moves. Stations scattered without logic create bottlenecks and Units standing in the sun. A well-designed circuit keeps everyone moving.
Prepare the material with a margin and standardized. If the knot station uses ropes, every Unit receives identical ropes, of the same length and condition. If it is fire, each team receives the same number of matches and the same type of firewood. Unequal material breaks fairness before the judge even blows the whistle. Have replacements for what gets used up: water, kindling, training bandages.
Choosing and preparing the judges is decisive. A good judge knows the skill in depth, applies the scoresheet to the letter, and roots for no Club. Gather the judges before the event, train them all with the same rubric, and run a simulation to calibrate the grades. Two different judges looking at the same tent should arrive at close grades.
Guard impartiality actively. Ideally the judge should not evaluate their own Club; if they do, make it clear and have a second judge alongside. Record everything in writing, on the spot, with a signature. And have a calm channel for questions: a Unit that disagrees should be able to ask without it turning into a shouting match. Firmness in the criteria, kindness in the treatment. A culture of positive discipline in the Club helps everyone compete with respect, winning or losing.
The spiritual meaning: doing it well for God
For the Pathfinder Club, which is a ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the field test has a meaning that goes beyond the trophy. The idea is simple: doing things well is a way to honor God. It is not about winning at any cost, but about giving your best with dedication and honesty.
The Bible links effort and faith in a direct way. In Colossians 3:23 (NIV) it is written: 'Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.' Tying a firm knot, boiling the water properly, caring for the injured with tenderness: all of this can be done with all your heart. Well-placed effort becomes worship.
The apostle Paul also writes, in 2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV): 'Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.' The image is of someone who trains and prepares so as not to be put to shame. It is exactly the spirit of the field test: you train to arrive ready, without improvising.
And there is the greater goal, in 1 Corinthians 10:31 (NIV): 'So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.' If you are an Adventist, this is the heart of the activity. If you are not, feel at ease: the invitation is only to give your best with integrity. Winning is good, but competing with honesty and caring for your friend is worth more than any score.