Re: Venture/Varsity
(no name) ((no email))
Wed, 10 Mar 1999 02:59:44 -0600
Please make sure that you attend the Scoutmaster Fundamentals
course at your earliest...it will give you a BETTER understanding
than my explaination will here!!
Tee Forshaw <dtlfor@FORYOU.NET> wrote and asked:
>I'll be taking Medicine Drum next month, but I'm trying to get a
>head start in understanding the set-up. If I understand the
>troopmaster's handbook
(Scoutmasters' Handbook....that's okay. My Dad called the
Scoutmaster the "troopmaster" once to the Scoutmaster's crossed
eyes as in "whoo boy, do we have a winner here!"; but seriously,
not everyone is supposed to know "from birth" what the adult
advisor of the Troop is called!!)
>correctly, a troop can have a Venture Patrol for older boys.
That's right. A Troop may choose to host a Venture Patrol for it's
older (high school, basically) aged youth. The idea is not to get
them off to a side, but to offer them additional opportunities to
use the Scouting skills and ideals with other boys their age as
well as to get them exposed to "more rugged adventures."
>Older boys can also organize into a Varsity Team, which operates
>outside a troop structure, but has the same opportunities for
>advancement.
True to a point. A Varsity Team is organized like a Scout Troop.
It may be chartered to the same organization that chartered your
Troop, or it may be chartered to an entirely different organization
in your community. Varsity Teams concentrate on activities that
will first earn them the Varsity Letter and then from that point to
further advancement as First Class, Star, Life and Eagle.
The leader of the Varsity Team is called a Captain and he may have
a Co-Captain or Assistant Captain depending on how they want to
structure the Team. Teams are divided into Squads, and each Squad
has a leader. The adult that works with the Captain is called the
Team's Coach and he or she may have several Assistant Coaches (at
least one is preferred). The activities and program of the Team is
managed and supported by a Team Committee consisting of three or
more members.
So, if you look at the Varsity Program and compare it to the Scout
"traditional program," here's what you'll get:
Traditional Troop Item Varsity Team
10.5 to 18 Age bracket 14 to 18
Senior Patrol Leader Leader Captain
Patrol Leader Sub-Leaders Squad Leader
Scoutmaster Advisor Coach
Outdoor and community program highs Outdoor and sports
Boy Scout Advancement advancement Scout and Varsity Letter
Summer camp program apex Extended outdoor camp
>The third organization available for older Scouts is a Venturing
>Team, which includes both females and males, but does not have the
>same advancement opportunities.
The Venturing program is NOT just for "older Scouts." It is the
program which has taken the place of outdoor, hobby, Sea, and
religious-education Exploring. In many aspects, Venturing is
identical to the Exploring program prior to 1971. Venturing has
its own advancement trail, leading up to two awards: the Silver
Award and the Ranger Award. Both awards may be earned by any
Venturer. Additionally, (male) Venturers may continue to earn
Star, Life, Eagle and Eagle Palms as if they were registered in a
Troop.
>Putting aside the Venturing Team (I understand the basic purpose
>of that), what are the pros and cons between a Venture Patrol and
>a Varsity Team?
Venturing organizations are called "Crews" with the exception of
Sea Scouting/Venturing units which are called "Ships."
The pros of having a separate Varsity Team are having a separate
program independent of the Troop operation, of having your own
"means of support" without taxing a limited Troop Committee, and in
having an identity not based upon the Troop's structure but on your
own. Just being called a "Team" instead of a "Troop" is a great
turn-on for boys that are already being challenged in high school
to "become part of some team" or group. Earning a "Letter" and
being able to wear it on a letter jacket (which when the Varsity
Program came out, I wrote a letter to the Associate Director of
Varsity Scouting asking that they together with the Supply Division
develop a "Varsity Letterman's jacket" on which the "Big V" would
be able to be worn on, in blaze and white (the Varsity colors). I
received a nice but terse "if we wanted your ideas, we would have
asked you for it" kind of response, and they developed a regular
jacket instead. I TRULY FEEL THAT THE BSA MISSED A GREAT
OPPORTUNITY BY NOT HAVING SUCH A LETTERMAN'S JACKET FOR OLDER BOYS
TO WEAR!)
The cons are that the Varsity program smacks of "Leadership Corps"
if not implemented right, and that you move away from the Troop
operation older boys which would benefit from the additional
leadership if you'd left them in the Venture Patrol and offered
them additional outdoor experiences under their own leadership.
The additional con is that your District's Executive or senior
professional wouldn't be your friend for a short time (she or he'll
get over it eventually! *smiling*) because your nine boys are still
in the Troop instead of being organized as a Varsity Team instead!
>Also, are Explorers still around? They receive nary a mention in
>the Scoutmaster's handbook.
No. Explorers belong to Learning for Life now, and are no longer a
part of the "traditional BSA" programming.
Hope all of this helps out, Tee!!
Settummanque!
(c) 1999 Mike Walton ("no such thing as strong coffee,...") blkeagle@mninter.net
http://www.mninter.net/~blkeagle Burnsville, MN 55306-7130 (612) 435-3068
privately at kyblkeagle@aol.com or waltonmi@usarc-emh2.army.mil
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