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That is quite a jump when you say allowing someone not to wear the official uniform pants means that YPT or smoking rules are optional also. One is for the safety of the youth and one is the present a unformed appearance for BSA scouts but actually little bearing on the ability to safely meet the mission of scouting. This is not the military. Lets not pretend it is and approach it the same way.

It is apparently not of high importance to most councils. Otherwise, every council would maintain at their office a used exchange department. Far too many uniforms go to some form of thrift, and most of those end up in the market with little control and often excessive expectations. IF each council were to keep such a resource, people could use it for exchanges as youth grow, and the supply issue might be partly mitigated. But, that would mean they would likely lose a good percentage of "new" purchases. The focus needs to not be on profit to sustain the council, but service to meet the "u

Had several meetings this week about what is going on in Scouting. . Apparently I am spreading rumors since I keep up with the bankruptcy , state what is being told in court (via this site and others), and ask questions that the PTB either do not want to answer, or do not know the answer because they are not informed. I asked about council mergers since BSA plans to downsize the number. Answer is council mergers wont be happening if goals are met. I asked about why we are investing in a camp, when the merger possibility exists and the camp will get sold. Told again no mergers are going to

I have also seen scouters wearing that particular knot, and while not approved in my council I did speak to people who in casual conversation (I have never confronted anyone for wearing it) stated that their local council has approved it for uniform wear. While he is not a member of council I did happen to eat lunch at the same table as the young man wearing the tutu (although not the same day he wore it) and found him to be articulate and well spoken. I was well aware why he chose to wear the tutu the day he wore it and was not embarrased in the least by someone I only met and spoke wit

This is where we differ in addressing uniform issues. The uniform is one of the methods of scouting, it is not one of the aims. There is no rule stating that any scout must have a uniform in order to participate in any event. We have the BoR. While it is recommended that a scout wear the uniform to a BoR, or at least as much of it as he/she owns, a scout cannot and should not be denied if they are unable to obtain a uniform. As I stated earlier in this thread my scout and I are always in complete uniform for all activities. I can afford multiple uniforms and have no p

It’s funny to me how adults set rules to keep from admitting a foul. A number of years back the mother of a high school student put a butter knife in her sons lunch to spread the peanut butter she included on his crackers. When a teacher saw the butter knife, the student was kicked out of school for breaking zero tolerance knife policy. As you said, the rule is for safety and the butter knife had little bearing on the mission of safety. But, nobody was willing to bend. I learned hypocrisy is by far the greatest violation adults make to youth as the youth grow in learning to make sound jud

I agree. But I did not dictate any expectations of how scouts wear the uniform in our troop. I did give the PLC the expectation of making right decisions. The handbook tells the scouts how to wear the uniform, so they didn’t need the adults help. But, the question came up now and then if they were making a good decision on how they wore their uniform. I did have some really good discussions on the subject with the PLC. If the adults can’t justify the uniform in the big picture of developing good character, then the uniform will always be a problem because youth don’t naturally relate dress cod

That's actually the policy. Within boating for those not classified as swimmers there are two tiers: Fixed seat rowboat or pedal boat: Those not classified as swimmers can operate "fixed-seat rowboat or pedal boat accompanied by a buddy who is a swimmer". Because these vessels are far less likely to capsize, an adult buddy is not a requirement. Canoe or other paddle craft: Those not classified as swimmers can go canoeing if they share a canoe with a Swimmer Adult. Additionally, these policies only apply "on calm water with little likelihood of capsizing or falling overboar

I would not call my personal uniform "minimal" in the sense nothing but default is on it, but I also prefer a simple uniform and do not put on every single thing I could. I want to be recognizable as a leader to Scouts (in and out of unit) and parents. I want some things like AOL/Religious Emblem/Eagle knots to show the Scouts "these things mean something and follow you through life" as a means to encourage them to achieve and respect those things. But otherwise, I want all the "showing off" to be the youth. I think that's a good practice when you're actively involved in unit leadershi

"Is there or is there not a uniform standard in Scouts BSA?" Yes, there is. But that question isn't very helpful. A better question might be "what should the response be when a scout doesn't meet the uniform standard." As usual in scouts the answer often depends on why the scout isn't doing what is hoped for. I once had a scout wear intensely bright green pants to a meeting because someone complained that the green pants he previously wore were not "green enough." I suspect the tutu scout was also trying to make a point. While some broken rules require a ton of bricks, the uniform, w

Off-topic posts related to TCJC, LDS have been moved here.

I was typing something almost identical to this So I will just quote and add: Avoid assumptions as well. Just because a Scout is at an "expensive event" does not mean they paid to be there. There are plenty of Camperships, Sponsorships, Volunteer chances to attend these larger spendy events with no or low cost. This does not mean that Scout and their family have the means to be fully kitted for whatever reason.

That's a huge branding loss. Tabernacle choir is rather generic and few know what/where Temple Square is. I fear this will be long-term like The Artist Formerly known as Prince. We will have a choir formerly known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

The TCC today posted a "preliminary statement" at tccbsa.com.

If you know the Scout owns a uniform, then you can hold the Scout to the standard. The key here is, do not let owning a uniform be a barrier to participation. But, if they have one, you can expect the Scout to wear it. Also, establish that expectation up front in your Troop SOP's (or whatever you have.) If you have established that expectation (I recommend in writing) and the Scout shows up dressed otherwise, then ask them why. Then (as long as the Scout is "clean and neat in appearance and dressed appropriately) (how's that for a subjective assessment??) the BOR can make a judgment "ac

My sons unit allowed any type of green pants/shorts, so if the parent bought a pair of "no-name" or designer name pair of dark green pants, those were perfectly fine. They did not require the actual BSA pants at $50. With Cubs, being navy blue as the color, I would never ask a parent to spend the money for the official shorts, I'd tell them to go to Walmart and buy the $15 navy blue cargo shorts.

https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/33066/33066_Official_Policy_WEB.pdf Official policy even states wearing the uniform is not mandatory and to "promote the wearing of the correct complete uniform on all suitable occasions." I think this is intentional and works. At least in our troop we expect for meetings shirts, jeans, or scout pants/shorts. For Court of Honor and Board of Review full uniform to the extent you own (even BoR rules state something about only having to wear the parts you own). Etc. Our troop has policies on what to wear when, the Scouts follow it, we hav

First … the rule is that a uniform is not required to participate in scouting. But … I think where I agree with @Mrjeff in that scouting should be a place where we set aside our personal agendas. I discourage scouts from wearing campaign pins on their uniforms. I’m okay with earrings, but when they are being used to set scouts apart from their fellows, it’s a problem. This includes behavior. I would not let a Venturer misquote the Quran to slander Muslims. I insisted that they not use “backward” when referring to those with a restrictive sexual ethic. The “protest tutu” is in that categor

A group of 11 Scouts is not too bad. My troop had like 7 kids in '90. It was great. We were small enough that everyone fit in a Ram 3500 van with our gear in an open cargo trailer for summer camp. We could transport the whole troop on outings. We had a blast. When the Scouts have a blast every time, they tell other kids. My buddy and I went back to our old grade school and recruited after high school. Only 5 kids in the 5th grade class - 3 joined us and we took them to summer camp, showed them the ropes, etc. They stayed and perpetuated the cycle.

From everything I've seen, heard, and read over the years it is a desire for more functional fabric, fit, design, and components. Cost is part of the design and components part -- many people want uniforms streamlined to reduce cost, particularly the cub uniform where multiple new components need to be purchased for every rank. Telling people to go look in secondhand stores, which is something I repeatedly see recommended in scouting unlike other youth activities and organizations, isn't a great strategy. To me that means the uniform is a unique barrier in scouting for many.

Create a FB page--It's free. The girls won't share this, but their parents will, which means other girl's parents will see it, too. Have the girls make short videos they can post on Tic Tok, Insta, and reels. Don't do the stupid "Please join" video either. Have them show something cool like ziplining, with captions like "look what we did last weekend!" When word gets out that the girls are doing cool things, you'll have recruits. Set up a webpage--It's easy to do and will cost $5/month. In today's world, if you don't have a webpage, you don't exist. My experience with marketing

Off and on through the years I have tried to point out the inclusion of the name of Jesus Christ in their longer name, which I understood to be the official one. Am fairly certain the usage of Mormon comes from the Book of Mormon, and that book has seemed to me to be the reason so many "Christians" have refused to recognize them as "Christians". For me, it has always been what verifies to me that they are one of the many off shoots of the larger family of Christians. While the extra book has never been something I have found acceptible for my own Christian belief, it also does not remove th

Sort of. It’s had the same formal name since 1837-ish (“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints”). The issue has always been that the full name is kind of a mouthful and lends itself to shortening; and there’s been some back-and-forth from the church leadership over the years about whether “Mormon” was an appropriate short form since the term as an appellation both was coined by detractors of the church and tends to distract from what we see as our commitment to Jesus. About every twenty or thirty years we get direction from church leaders saying “please, lay off the ‘Mormon’ thing”

They announced a name change right around the time they exited the BSA.

I think if kids liked wearing the uniform and found it functional and comfortable, it wouldn't be such an issue. You often don't really have to fight a kid to get them into a sports uniform -- they don't mind wearing it because it fits and is more functional. Many people look to the military and law enforcement as a parallel, but just last week I noticed patrolmen in my town wearing khakis and a navy golf shirt with reflective tapes on them. Not a traditional form, but they looked good, comfortable, and the reflective tape is a no brainer -- why doesn't BSA put that on uniforms for safety inst

Got a letter from Council today regarding the issue. Pretty much.... "Uhhh, that part about Option 1 we were talking about... forget that, thats not really an option. You can sign an Affiliation Agreement or Facilities Use Agreement and that's all your choices" It signed by Steven Schied and our SE. Days like this I get dizzy from my rolling my eyes.