CascoDad

Well, all is not lost. My son did graduate to Wolf before attending summer camp, so we will just work on the award at Wolf level. We already did several activities last summer that will count. In fact all we need to do is complete Wolf elective 23b and he has it.

I wondered about this too and was glad the topic was on this forum. The pack in our town is dwindling away, due to several reasons. The leaders are too busy with other commitments (in charge of rec soccer and baseball) so scouts don't start meeting until Nov and end in April (I can't fault them, nobody else has stepped up to be Cubmaster); we haven't met yet (today is Nov 9) and nobody has returned my call as to when meeting will start; the town is quite small so all dens meet at the same time in one room at the school which is chaotic for younger ones; also I feel that the town is just too small to support a pack the way it should be (no outings at all last summer).

There is a lack of interest here; maybe it is the same percentage as in larger towns, but it comes down to there were 13 boys who made cars for the Pinewood derby last year and half of those have left the pack, and now it is my turn. I called the cubmaster in the next town (6 times larger than mine) and he was happy to have my son join his pack which has 50 boys. Luckily I can literally throw a stone into the next town from my backyard so the commute is not that bad. The den leader told me that the pack is just what I would expect a pack should be, she said she couldn't believe how badly some of the other packs in the area are run, so that was quite encouraging. We are looking forward to Wolf this year even though we are starting a bit late.

Also, I am happy to volunteer my time, the den leader asked if I would stay and help out rather than just drop my boy off and I said yes. I want to become more involved; I just felt that with the old pack it wasn't going to help much.

I want my son to receive this award (he was a Tiger last year). I haven't asked leaders about it yet, because we haven't even had a den meeting yet this Fall! So we are switching packs and starting den meetings tomorrow. I too would like some clarification. The rules say that camp must be attended after Sept 1, 2004, and also that Tiger cubs are eligible. Now Tiger cubs do not join Scouts until Fall after summer camp is over. This all implies to me that requirements start being met in the Fall, and continue through the summer AFTER the rank is earned, including camp, even though the cub is graduated to the next rank in the Spring.

For example, my son started as a Tiger last Fall (2004), completed his requirements for the award during the school year and into the summer, and attended day camp last summer (2005), the first year camp can apply. So even though he was a Wolf as of last May, he should get the award this Fall (2005) for his Tiger year. This also implies to me that Webelos II cannot receive the award, as it should be given in the Fall after the summer during which camp was attended.

Has an official ruling been made on this?