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  1. Today
  2. MattR
    I hope they make it work. They will be forced to figure out how to do it without merit badges. That could be a good learning experience for other camps. I wonder what kind of program they'd put on for scout units. My old troop has gone to Bear Lake, which also has little to do with the BSA anymore, and the scouts really liked it.
  3. InquisitiveScouter
    Correct. And that is why I would decline to sign the card if the Scout had not completed the requirements.
  4. DannyG
    Thus, the unit leader signs the blue card again after the counselor completes it. That's the check the merit badge is earned.
  5. InquisitiveScouter
    No. Please read Guide to Advancement, 7.0.4.7 "In most cases, with a fair and friendly approach, a Scout who did not complete the requirements will admit it. Short of this, however, if it remains clear under the circumstances that some or all of the requirements could not have been met, then the merit badge is not reported or awarded, and does not count toward advancement. The unit leader then offers the name of at least one other merit badge counselor through whom any incomplete requirements may be finished. Note that in this case a merit badge is not “taken away” because, although
  6. Yesterday
  7. mrjohns2
    This isn't an opinion, it is policy. If the blue card is signed by the counselor, then the scout has earned it. Your "beef" is with the camp / counselor, the scout should still be awarded the badge.
  8. InquisitiveScouter
    This. ----------------- In the National Annual Report, https://www.scouting.org/about/annual-report/year2023/ they should change the verbiage from "earned" Merit Badges to "awarded" Merit Badges. There is a difference... Consider Camping Merit Badge. (For which, even after much advice and counsel, several of our Scouts still sign up every year at Summer Camp.) Including the subordinate items, there are 30 different requirements to complete for the badge. How many are "outdoors" requirements? 5: 8 (d) While camping in the outdoors, cook ...[three meals]... [It's
  9. skeptic
    You make a number of valid, or at least seemingly valid, points. But, I have heard indirectly of many issues with poorly disciplined or overbearing kids on teams, and if a child is NOT good enough, they will be gone by middle school age for the most part. More importantly, IF you feel youth sports have few YP issues, you are not paying attention. Only recently have many states stepped in to begin a better oversight of these teams. In California, and I believe many other states now, there are state madated certifications for adults involved in these teams. It remains to be seen if those m
  10. BetterWithCheddar
    While there are a few delusional folks out there, I think the vast majority of parents sign their kids up for club teams simply because their kids enjoy playing sports. Parents don't mind the added expense and time commitment as long as their child is having fun, making friends, and getting exercise. In many large suburban school districts, kids need to play their primary sport during the club season in order to make their high school varsity team. This is most common with soccer, basketball, and baseball / softball. A kid's skill level is unlikely to keep up with peers if they sit out th
  11. AltadenaCraig started following curious_scouter
  12. Last week
  13. ToKindle96 started following Scouting America
  14. ToKindle96
    I don't think calling another scouting organization that doubled in size a joke is scout like, my friend. Nor is it something to draw laughter. I'm trying to recall the part of the Scout Law that teaches us to do either of those things. BSA losing 1.2+ million in 5 years doesn't give those in the BSA a solid perch to smirk from. Those are 60,000 youth being served in the scouting movement.
  15. yknot
    Youth sports dwarf scouting. Around 80% of kids ages 5-18 each year are enrolled in sports and prefer their chosen sports to scouts. Scouting currently involves only about 1%-2% of the kid population. That reality means there is no point in comparing scouts to sports, yet a lot of energy and attention in scouting is spent on blaming sports -- as if sports is the reason more kids don't do scouts. There are few kids today who, after a day of near inactivity in school, want to sit around in den or troop meetings for another hour or two of "being good". In an outdoor youth program, leaders shoul
  16. curious_scouter
    Good time to practice using the most important gear a leader has: Your chair. And, a close second, working on your coffee (or perhaps tea) skills.
  17. skeptic
    Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council,Boy Scouts of America > News > Top News > California Assembly Bill 506 and Youth Protection Training California Assembly Bill 506 and Youth Protection Training Online training and Live Scan background checks required by law for all volunteers. A new law has taken effect in California, effective January 1, 2022 and will further support our mission to pr
  18. Eagle1993
    That is true for many sports, but I pay fees to be a NICA mountain bike coach. There is an annual background check fee to a 3rd party and annual registration fee. To be a level 2 coach I have to take a specific training course, in person. In addition I have to pay for mountain bike first aid and CPR every two years. NICA tracks the level of coaches and has very strict rules on rider to coach ratios, including coaching levels. It ensures the program is run well and consistently. I do wish BSA used the same background check company as other organizations so and then that fee would be o
  19. skeptic
    No longer the case in California, and I believe a few other states. Coaches fall under the updated State requirement to be accredited by the State in YP and reporting. That includes fingerprinting. Now whether anyone is policing that, I have no idea. But it is a part of our council level requirements.
  20. DannyG
    Scouting charges fees to its volunteers to register. I don't know any sports coaches that have to pay a registration fee. The training can be extensive for a scout leader. Sports volunteers might get a rules document to sign, then they just show up. But I also have some stories of terrible youth coaches.
  21. DannyG
    It seems contradictory. Be open to everyone but clearly define what the the program is and how it works? The promise is adventure and outdoors. Scouting let's you choose how you want to achieve those objectives. They provide the framework. Your unit decides how it is going to meet it.
  22. Eagle1993
    So, instead of making a simple first class requirement like we had for the majority of BSA history like " On one overnight, serve as patrol cook & prepare breakfast, lunch, & dinner that require cooking." Instead we have the following: 2a. Help plan a menu for one of the above campouts that includes at least one breakfast, one lunch, and one dinner, and that requires cooking at leastt wo of the meals. Tell how the menu includes the foods from MyPlate or thec urrent USDA nutritional model and how it meets nutritional needs for thep lanned activity or campout. 2b. Using t
  23. qwazse
    For being a joke, I have a couple of great nephews who TL/USA helped guide into adulthood. The BSA troop’s available to them were inadequate.
  24. InquisitiveScouter
    Thanks! Like I said... not my forte. Also, I was pointing out the inconsistency that BSA has no Training required for BSA unit leaders to supervise an activity here. Just the statement in G2SS, "All shooting sports activities held outside of a council’s camp will follow the program as outlined in the BSA National Shooting Sports Manual (www.scouting.org/outdoor-programs/Shooting-Sports)."
  25. Jameson76
    While some of the article is questionable, there are some truths. Trail Life does clearly define who they are, what they do, and what the benefit may be. One has the right to disagree with their messaging, but it is clear. BSA (SA??) has an extremely broad message about what they are. The current focus seems to be all things to all people. Not sure you can excite and entice people with that. There may be confusion in that all are welcome seems to mean BSA (SA??) will do / provide whatever you want in it's program. IMHO there is a Balkanization of what BSA (SA??) provides in that
  26. InquisitiveScouter
    Trail Life is a Scouting program. Scouting is the movement. BSA is a business. You should really separate the two in your thinking. Otherwise, you miss the point of the article.
  27. Tron
    This is why there needs to be a doctrinal pathway to complain to district/council advancement about bad leaders adding to the requirements; that SM is going rogue. I see what you're saying, I think it's more of someone without guidance trying to get trained and figuring this out is facing a huge uphill struggle. On the other hand there's something like this: There's a parent in my unit that said he won't do the adult training unless he's paid to do it. We're trying to spoon feed the adult training and everything that goes with it to him and we can't get him to buy in. For sports it
  28. Tron
    LOL, he says they have doubled in size while BSA has steeply lost members. Their self reporting that they have 60k members right now, total, nationwide. Trail Life is a joke.
  29. Tron
    BSA has evaluations. https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/Outdoor Program/Shooting Sports/430-065_WB.pdf
  30. OaklandAndy started following Shooting Sports programs changes coming 9/1/24 - including name change Range and Target Activities
  31. OaklandAndy
    I haven't looked at the SSM in awhile, but I know as of last year, you don't even need an RSO to run a range during summer camps. Outside summer camps, yes. During...no. Hmm.
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