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I am looking for some ideas on how to handle the cross-over ceremony with more than one troop. I would like to do this at the last Pack meeting of the year so that younger cubs get a better idea of what "cross-over" is

and what to look forward to, however I am finding it difficult to orchestrate the ceremony with only one bridge and more than one troop. Anyone have any ideas?

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Cross-over's to two troops is really not difficult. My first question would be: Have you ever done a cross-over before? My second question would be: What month do you usually cross-over, and what month is your last meeting?

 

If you've ever done a cross-over before, and your ceremony is good, then just stay with the same thing. The only difference is that at the far side of the bridge, there would be representatives from both troops waiting to accept their new scouts. Doing it with the light dimmed and a path the the bridge lined with Cubs and parents holding candles is a nice touch. The Cubmaster (or other Pack representative) just needs to coordinate with the two troops as to how he intends the ceremony to proceed. We used to follow this routine, and the pack still does now, 16 years after I went on to Boy Scouts. An Assistant Cubmaster acts as MC, and reads the name of the Cub about to cross-over. On the Cub side of the bridge, the Cub and his parents shake hands witht he Den Leader and the Cubmaster they are leaving, and proceed over the bridge to the Troop they are joining. (Remember, the troop is counting on the Scout AND his parents joining.) Just before the Cub crosses the bridge, the MC says something about the Cub and the Troop he has decided to join. This signals the Troop Representatives that they should be ready on their side to formally recieve a new family. On the Troop side, the New Scout is presented with his new neckerchief, troop numbers, handbook, and/or anything else that the troop usually presents at cross-over. We've used this method for the two packs and two troops in our town for many years, and it has always worked very well. What really makes the difference, is how organized, formal, and quiet the Pack Leadership can make it.

 

After the cross-over itself, the Pack meeting usually goes on for another 15 minutes or so, renewing itself as a temporarily smaller unit, while the Troop Leaders lead their new charges off to another portion of the building to hold an informal meeting with the new Scouts and their families to give them information about first meeting, parents night, introductions, paperwork, etc., out of sight from the rest of the Pack. If this meeting is the last meeting of the year, the time right after the cross-over is a good time to get the remaining pack members and families focused back on the pack by doing something to give recognition to the Cubs who will become Webelos in the following year, and/or make any presentations of awards and achievement recognition.

 

That, I guess, pertains mostly to question 1. As to question 2, cross-overs in our area are usually held in March. That's far from the last meeting of the year, so the Pack still has a couple of months to go before the summer 'break'. Don't turn off the Cub Scout spigot too early, and don't cross-over too late. The troops will need the months before the summer to get the new Scouts introduced to the Troop, and make them feel comfortable in the troop. they will usually use this time for first campouts and skills instruction to get the new Scouts going ASAP.

 

Hope this helps.

 

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At every crossover I have seen, more than one troop was represented. You should tell the affected troops your date and who else you expect to be there. You may not always get the scoutmaster, but you likely will get somebody from every unit.

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Last year I had 3 different troops represented for my boys and the confusion made the ceremony seem awkward.

To prevent this confusion this year, I tried to suggest having the OA represent Boy Scouting and just have the boys bridge to the Scouting movement in general. Afterall, the OA is considered the "Honor Society of Boy Scouts," so who better to represent scouting? My Weebs leader disagrees and strongly feels that the Scoutmasters from EACH troop should be there.(Fortunately this time they've chosen the safe troop.)

So, after long thoughts, I think the best way to handle this may be to have a separate Pack meeting to focus on the boys receiving the AOL and bridging on to boy scouts. You could do it as a retrospective on the boys' cubbing experiences leading up to receiving the AOL. Then you can present them with their AOL and bridge them across by troops that they will be joining.

(Man, bridgings have become confusing since my day! Then, we thought we had to go to our parent Troop, so there was no conflict like this.)

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A quick addition to the crossing over to multiple troops. I've seen it with each boy being given the kerchief, etc by his new troop. But then at the end, a Scoutmaster invited all the new scouts to join all Scouts from all the troops in reciting the Scout Oath and Law together. It made a very warm, unifying closing. Then the scouts all left the Pack meeting together in a quiet procession. It was quite moving and impressive for the Cubs, too.

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would like to echo mcquillan's words "formal and quiet." Try to take the various Den leaders aside before the meeting and emphasize to them that this ceremony demands respect from the various Tigers, Wolves, Bears, and 1st year Webelos. Might consider some sort of quick physical activity (one lap around the parking lot ?) to burn off excess energy before the ceremony.

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