Blue&Gold Advancement.. Need a better answer..

[Horizon]

We have the AOL and Bridging Ceremony in Jan/Feb (this year in Jan). We make that its own special ceremony.

Blue & Gold is not until the end of the school year in June.

We don't hold back awards. If boys have earned a rank badge, they get it upon earning - and then they add arrow points if they are chasing those too. However, it is a rare Scout who doesn't just turn it all in for the June celebration.

[Eagledad]

One of the complaints about our B&Gs is that they were so long. With Webelos crossovers, rank presentations for all ages along with intertainment, music and games, it was impossible to stay under 2 hours. We then switched to recognizing all the ranks the month they were earned and doing Webelos Crossover at a Pack meeting. Yes, we had the Pack meeting and B&G the same month. We do crossovers for all the other ages at our annual May campfire. This change the B & G completely making it A LOT easier to plan and a lot more fun to attend. We still give awards, but not near as many. Moving the Web Crossover to a Pack meeting made that ceremony better and more meaningful for everyone. The B&Gs are now an hour long of fun and food. I think that is what it was originally intended to be. Barry

[jc2008]

The reason like others have mentioned, is because the Blue and Gold is a special celebration with a lot of hoop-la attached. So it makes it a special time for a special rank advancement award. Not just a normal everyday Pack Meeting that you have every other month of the year.

 

If you are aiming for the Blue and Gold to be a rank advancement ceremony, it is in your favor to have it as late as possible in the year, perhaps even moving it to March as a belated celebration.

[SPSTracy]

I think February is a great time for both a celebration and rank advancement. February is dreary, especially this year, and the derby and B&G perk things up. This is the first year it has been challenging to finish ranks because one of my dens has had 3 cancellations due to snow, but we are still on track. As the weather improves, we can use the den time for outdoor excursions, field trips, belt loops (for now), LNT outings, and so forth. Starting in April, boys get busy with baseball and soccer + the end of year is crazy busy, with every class, school, team, and activity planning an end of year event. Also, we are chartered by a Catholic school, so several April/May weekends are taken up by First Communion. It works for us, and it is tradition, but I do think Packs should do what works best for them.