When are they ready?

[Chippewa29]

My troop had our annual planning weekend last weekend. A great time was had by all. We ate well, got some training and planning, and had a good time playing in the snow (we wimped out and stayed in cabins). One of the activities the Scouts said they wanted to do this year was go Whitewater rafting. They said the same thing last year. Since we were dealing with mainly 11 and 12 year olds, we felt it was best we didn't do whitewater, but instead went to a river in Northern Michigan that had some rapids. The kids had a great time, but they said they wanted to up the adventure this year and go whitewater rafting. Since the kids are older this year, and have grown quite a bit (both figuratively and literally), I think they should be fine since most whitewater places have made things safe enough for people that are not big time adventurers to enjoy it.

 

We have a father who thinks that the Scouts are still too young and we should just go canoeing again. It happens that this is the father of our challenge Scout, who is twelve but is still only 70lbs and is pretty timid (basically, he would be very happy if we ran our troop like a cub pack, that is about the right level for him). The dad thinks the trip last year went really well (it did) and we should just go do the same thing again. A couple of the other parents feel their sons are ready for the new "challenge" and like the idea of whitewater rafting.

 

Two questions. The first is whether other troops take Scouts that are 13 and under on whitewater rafting trips and what results have they had from them? Second, I feel like this one father wants the troop to make sure every activity the troop does is something his son would be comfortable doing while the other Scouts in the troop want the adventures to get bigger and better. How much do you accomodate a Scout that can't keep up with the other Scouts their age versus holding back the rest of the Scouts when they are ready to do bigger and better things?

[eisely]

Are you talking about rafting as a day outing or as an expedition? There is no reason that younger scouts cannot do river rafting. I presume that you would do your rafting through a commercial outfitter with qualified guides in each raft.

 

There is no minimum age requirement in the safety policies of BSA. There are a variety of other safety considerations that do exist in the policies and you would do well to understand and adhere to these. Any commercial outfitter that is any good may also have minimum age or weight requirements.

 

I am a good canoeist, but I have been rafting only once as part of a family adventure. Putting scouts into canoes by themselves is probably more dangerous than rafting with a qualified guide, and more work too. I would suggest that you find some reasonably close outfitter who can handle a day trip, rather than build an expedition around something nobody seems to have tried before.

 

If most of the scouts in your unit want to do a little rafting, then you should put it on your calendar. Those who do not want to go can do something else.

[Mike Long]

If you and your assistants are comfortable with doing it, you think the boys are ready and all the safety issues have been delt with then the troop is ready.

 

Do your homework and have fun.

[Chippewa29]

One thing I forgot to post is that we would require the Scouts going to pass the BSA swimmer test. We are planning on this being a day trip, although an expedition would be very cool for the future. I like the point of checking with the rafting company. If the our Scouts don't meet their minimum age or weight requirements, then we'll have to see about "scaling down" again to a canoeing trip. The big question is this. What happens if the minimum age is eleven and the minimum weight is 80 pounds (something that sounds pretty normal)? Our Scout in question is only 70 pounds at this point, but the rest of the Scouts in the troop are easily over 90 pounds. that would be a hard one to explain, but once again, how much do you let the limitations of one Scout dictate the activities in which the troop takes part?

[eisely]

Requiring ALL PARTICIPANTS, not just youth, to pass the BSA swimmer test is a requirement, unless you have a qualified lifeguard in the canoe or raft with the person who doesn't meet the test.

 

I have not run into a weight requirement by an outfitter, but age minimums are common. Any such requirement by an outfitter would likely depend on the difficulty of the reach to be traveled. This is something you have to ask about, unless the outfitter volunteers the information. You need an affirmative response from the outfitter concerning their policies.

 

While one wants to accommodate everybody in the unit to the extent possible, the agenda should not be set to meet the needs or preferences of one scout. This is true for everything.

[sctmom]

My son is one of those "challenge" scouts. He HATES boats, a fear he was born with. He is also very small for his age.

 

Troop activities should be planned for the majority of the troop. If he chooses not to go on this one outing, that is his choice. Don't punish him about not going. Not everyone is going to like white water rafting regardless of their size (uhh, like me..hehehe).

 

I would check in advance with the outfitters about size and age limits. Even then some of this is about emotional maturity. If the kid gets out there and freaks out and can't do his part, you are putting him and others in danger.

 

Something I think a lot of kids (and parents) need to realize is that you cannot participate in EVERY activity. And every event can't be planned to suit everybody's tastes and schedules. That doesn't mean you plan stuff to purposely leave out someone, but this is what the group wants, do it.

 

Perhaps the dad who wants to do the same thing as last year could round up enough parents and younger scouts to do the same thing.

 

Talked to a troop who did this last year and everyone who went loved it!

Good luck and have fun.

[eisely]

There is a scout high adventure base in either Montana or Idaho on (if I recall correctly) the Salmon River dedicated to Whitewater Rafting. This is base is run by a council, not national. You might be able to locate information through a web search, or even through Scouter.com. Chances are there is someone there who could advise you on Whitewater Rafting generally, even if you don't plan to go that far afield.

 

When I drove by this place two and half years ago, it looked very intriguing. I don't think 12 and 13 year olds are too young for this particular activity, provided there is a qualified guide in each raft.

[scoutmom]

The first thing I would do is make sure you have someone trained in Safety Afloat. I assume you have done this, as you took a canoeing trip last year. Make sure you comply with the safety afloat guidelines and stress that to all the parents. If they realize you have someone trained for this type of situation, they may be more comfortable with letting their son's participate.

 

Sounds like a great trip! Can I come?