2013 Jamboree Requirements

[SR540Beaver 116]

Summit Bechtel Reserve has launched a new website at https://summit.scouting.org/en/Pages/default.aspx. They have a link to 2013 Jamboree information. There are two changes I noted.

 

One I had already heard of is that Venturers will be allowed at this Jamboree. I have not heard how that will work yet. I don't know if they will have contingent crews. I don't see mixing them in with the contingent troops and making them coed. I don't see a lot of councils being able to muster a contingent crew.

 

Two is this, "Must be at least 12 years of age by the first day of the jamboree or an 11 year old that has graduated the 6th grade, but has not reached their 18th birthday by the last day of the jamboree."

 

Having been a Jambo ASM for 2005 and 2010, I have my qualms about bringing 11 year olds. Using a simple age cutoff instead of an age and a school grade requirement is much more simple. You are either 12 or your aren't. There are going to be boys and parents of 11 year olds who have not graduated 6th grade who will be begging for exemptions. From my experience, 12 is almost too young. 11 definitely is.

[Twocubdad 665]

I'll take a whole troop of 11 and 12 year olds and we'll have a great time.

 

Is that ideal? Clearly not. I really want a good mix of Scouts top to bottom so you have some experienced guys, guys who have prior jamboree experience, etc. But being 11 isn't a deal-breaker.

 

All this really does is match BSA membership requirements so all the boys who crossed over together get an equal shot. If you do the math, having finished the sixth grade probably (but not 100%) means a young man has been in a troop for 18 months by the time jamboree rolls around (assuming he earned AOL and crossed over the previous spring).

 

And from a practical standpoint, you I doubt you'll see many 11 year-olds. I think we had one 12-year-old in our troop last year. Given the lead time, boys are going to have to start signing up for Jamboree as Webelos. That doesn't happen much. I will say with any Scout that young, I would include a chat with the parents in the application process. They need to be honest if the Scout is immature, clinggy and never been away from home much.

 

My older son went in 2005 as as a 12 year-old. Had a blast. He also had a terrific SM who was great with the boys, especially the younger ones. Jamboree was the highlight of his scouting career. He went to world in 2007 and was SPL of his jamboree troop last year.

[SR540Beaver 116]

Oh, I'm not saying it can't be done or that there aren't some mature enough to do it. Heck, we had issues with some of our guys who were 16. Other than weight requirements, if they pay the money, they get to go. I'd say 99% of the kids in our three contingent troops were great kids in both 2005 and 2010. Then there is that 1% that can drive you crazy. There is always the absent minded kid who won't pay attention in DC and wanders off with another troop from halfway across the country. First, why aren't you with your buddy and second, how can you be walking with 40 other people that you've never seen before. My son went in 2005 as a 12 year old. We've had a fairly good number of 12 year olds in all three of our troops for the past two Jambos. They require a little more hand holding than the older scouts. Not a lot, but more and the older boys generally do a pretty good job of keeping up with them. I've worked with our home units new scout patrol for the last four years or so and we typically get anywhere from 15 to 20 new scouts per year. All I'm saying is that from my experience as an ASM at two Jambos and as an ASM for about 60 new scouts over the past few years, I think the 11 year old age limit is pushing it a little except for exceptional 11 year olds. Lord knows, when we talked about not allowing cell phones at the 2010 Jambo, we had parents of 15, 16 and 17 year old scouts freaking out over not being able to stay in contact with their son and they were the calm ones.

[clemlaw 55]

I doubt if the issue is going to come up very much, since there are probably very few 6th grade graduates who are still 11 in July, and of course an even smaller number of them will be signing up practically the day the join Scouts.

 

But I don't really see the issue. I went to the 1973 Jamboree as a 12 year old sixth grade graduate. I believe that I wouldn't have been old enough if I had been that age for other Jamborees, but that was the one year that regular troops went to the Jamboree, and I believe they lowered the age requirement for that reason. It was our summer camp that year, and it was my second summer camp as a Boy Scout.

 

Frankly, if anything, the Jamboree was less demanding for a young scout than regular summer camp. We were in tents, but I wouldn't really call the experience "camping". It was really more like going to a fair and sleeping there overnight. We cooked on charcoal rather than a wood fire, and I remember that luxury seemed practically decadent for someone who was supposed to be "camping". I don't recall anything particularly strenuous or anything that required any particular skill. I suppose a few young scouts probably get lost in the big crowd, but that's probably less traumatic than getting lost in the wilderness. With thousands of scouts around, there really wasn't any wilderness to get lost in.

 

I suppose it would be somewhat different with a provisional troop. But still, presumably the provisional troop has gone on a few "shakedown" trips together, so it's probably not too different.

 

IMHO, a sixth grader would do just fine, even if he's a little bit younger than most of his classmates.

[SSScout 1615]

Perhaps the reasons are more, dare I say it, pecuniary in nature .

By enlarging the possibly suitable age range, they are making it more likely the Jamboree will be filled. Wasn't there some retrenching of Jamboree enrollments/expectations this last time? And Philmont is already behind in it's usual enrollments this term. Our Troop was recently offered about two dozen open trek dates, and we weren't normally eligible this season having gone just two years ago. That wasn't expected a-tall.

This is a NEW, unproven venue. Oh, I know, it will be an unforgetable event as always, no doubt. But, there are also unforgetable bills to pay, despite Bechtel's largesse.

They can't expect really new, young Scouts to succeed at the Jamboree, it is something more than the usual Scout summer camp. You have to expect some maturity and ability to navigate solo, so can't make it too young.

By the by, any word on the level of summer camp reservations? Or is it too early to judge those things?