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I don't encourage my Scouts to set thresholds for leadership positions. I encourage my Scouts to think about what the leadership position entails and vote for the Scout who can get it done. Last year we had a Scout who had been with our Troop for 6 years and just passed the swimmers test for First Class. He just had mental block about it. He has mounds of camping experience, great Scout skills and held several other PORs in the past. He was elected SPL and did a good job. If he had failed the swimmers test again should he have been denied the chance to run for SPL, I don't think so.

We had used homogeniously mixed patrols for about 6 months last year. The trouble we had was that the boys of similar ages grouped together at meetings and campouts. Last September I had just finished reading Bill Hillcout's Scoutmaster's Handbook from 1959, I think that is the year. I don't know the exact wording but it basically said let the Scouts decide who should be in their Patrols. So I made sheet with all the Scouts names on it. Each Scout was asked to pick up to 10 Scouts he most wanted in his patrol. (We only allow up to 8 in Patrols for the most part) I then plotted this infor