NO ONE is going to win any badges for organising America’s National Scout Jamboree.

The quadrennial gathering of 32,000 boy scouts now under way at an army base in Virginia has been struck by a series of misfortunes that have cost four lives and made hundreds ill.

First, four scout leaders from Alaska were electrocuted when a tent pole hit an overhead power line on the opening day.Then, 300 scouts fell ill with symptoms of dehydration and fatigue as they waited for hours in the blistering heat for a visit by President Bush. Eventually, severe thunderstorms and high winds forced Mr Bush to reschedule his trip.

The run of bad luck adds to the woes of the Boy Scouts of America, which is already embroiled in scandals about alleged child molesters in its ranks and inflated membership figures.

Hanging over the ten-day event is the threat that the giant jamboree may not take place again again a recent court ruling that the Pentagon’s $8 million contribution is unconstitutional because the organisation requires its members to affirm a belief in God.

On Monday four scout leaders from Alaska were erecting a dining tent on the 7,000-acre base. According to witnesses, the men were trying to raise the tall central pole after it got stuck. From inside the white tent they could not see the power line above.

“These men, when they were electrocuted, they were thrown to the ground,” Paula Call, whose son Kendell had been trying to get the pole in place, told the Anchorage Daily News. Her husband, Larry, was injured in the accident.

Gregg Shields, the organisation’s spokesman, said that the men appeared to have forgotten their scout training. “Boy Scouts are taught not to put their tents under trees or under power lines. I don’t know what happened in that case,” he said.

On Wednesday, tens of thousands of scouts waited for Mr Bush for three hours in an open field in their dress uniforms.

Although the scouts were given exceptional permission to remove their uniform shirts, as long as they were wearing undershirts, many were overcome by the sun and high humidity and temperatures approaching 100F.

“This is hot for me,” said Chad McDowell, 16, from Warrenton, Oregon. “Where I’m from if it’s 75, we think that it’s a heatwave.”

About 300 people were treated for symptoms of excessive heat as soldiers ferried scouts to the medical post on the base.

The day ended with the announcement that Mr Bush was calling off his trip because of bad weather — just as he had done four years ago.

Mr Bush had been scheduled to make another attempt to address the scouts last night. But yesterday the organisers changed their plans once more, pushing Mr Bush’s trip back until Sunday.

“We feel that our scouts and leaders will benefit most from an opportunity to review and emphasise our safety procedures and to replenish our resources,” Fran Olmstead, the jamboree chairman, said.

“We want all participants to safely enjoy the many activities and programmes at the jamboree. Also, the drop in temperature is a welcome change which should provide an opportunity to refresh.”

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