Best time for W-2 to bridge to a BS Troop

[IM_Kathy 32]

the pack my son was with did the cross over in May which was a terrible time because the boys got just 1 outting before summer camp. The troop he is with now has their feeder packs cross over in December - our December campout is our winter tenting before they join, and then the new scouts get to attend winter survival training which we require before they are allowed to tent camp in the winter. Since my son left his pack they have changed to also doing their OA ceremony in December to let them cross then.

[WestCoastScouter 10]

THANK YOU... for all your Responces....

 

Our Pack has decided to to the AOL ceremony and bridging on a Thur. night in late February... We contacted local troops and they agree that this would be the best time for them (the troops).

[NE-IV-88-Beaver 10]

If my memory serves me correctly, the original expansion of the Webelos was to a full two-year program. It was then found that the number of boys bridging over into Boy Scouts was dropping off. National then scaled the Webelos program back to eighteen months and encouraged bridging to be held between December and February. This change would allow the new Scouts to be fully indoctrinated into a troop before summer camp, enabling them to attend this sometimes daunting experience as seasoned Scouts. In districts and councils that made this change, the bridging and retention numbers went up.

 

In my own district, it took about four years to really accomplish this change. The staff running the Webelos' Camporee in the late spring were the main group opposed to the change as it did away with their big AOL ceremony. It finally came to the point of telling them that the Webelos' Camporee was going on the district calendar in the fall and if they couldn't deal with it, a new staff would be recruited. After that, it was an easy transition to get almost all of our packs doing bridging ceremonies within the suggested months, with most of them incorporating it into their Blue and Gold Banquet. This meant that most of the Webelos had bridged prior to our Scout Camporee and had a big activity to participate in right away. Within a year, we found that our numbers were heading in the right direction.

 

While I mention numbers and sound almost like a professional, I'm not. The numbers that were and are important to me represent youth taking advantage of and enjoying the program of which we are all a part.