Comments: Mar 11, 2013 - Chris B.
I'm a Tiger parent. My son joined his pack in November of 2012 and has been so excited and interested in everything scouting. We've been working on his Outdoor Activity Award recently, and after a pack hike this upcoming weekend he'll have completed all of the steps required except for the Day Camp.
Unfortunately, it appears that the Day Camp occurs after bridging to Wolf, so it won't be achieved as a Tiger Cub. It seems unfair to me that my son won't have a chance to earn the Outdoor Activity Award as a Tiger Cub, even though he completed all the rest of the steps. I don't feel that's fair to have kids do the other work and have nothing to show for it, especially since it WOULD get him the award if the camp were 2 weeks earlier.
Is there anything that can be done about that? My son has been really excited about this award because it's not like the rest. He's going to be devastated if I have to tell him he can't have it yet and has to do a bunch more stuff.
Apr 25, 2013 - Rob N.
Chris B, ditto. Registered my Tiger at the announced Sept 2012 registration. My mistake for not joining after kindergarten?? Who thinks of Day & Resident Camps before joining a den?
Completed all the reqts except Camp. We're bridging to Wolf on May 19th. Registered for the earliest Day Camp starting on June 10th. A difference of 22 days.
Why isn't Day Camp a year-end culminating event? Tiger parents don't all know that the 'program year' starts in June. This equals exactly 1 Wolf Track Pin for subsequent awards that our current group of boys will never be able to earn although they were "eligible". A 5th-grade Scout should be able to have earned up to 5 awards total, one for each year. If he didn't attend Camp after kindergarten he can only earn 4?
This rule directly contradicts criteria for the National Summertime Pack Award (awarded at end of summer at previous year's rank). Either count Day Camp as Year-END or make Tigers ineligible for the award without Camp first.
Apr 26, 2013 - Rob N.
I learned the interpretation in our Pack is to allow Day Camp credit to be applied to the rank just completed for first-year Scouts. Leaders would have to be mindful not to double-dip and count the same camp period twice to support the award at two different ranks.
The Logic:
1) Most boys (all grades) join Scouts when the school year starts -- they have already missed the cornerstone requirement for the award (Day/Resident Camp). The spirit of this award is to incentivize outdoor activities, not to create a maze of requirement-interpretation. In theory a first-year Scout could "earn-backward" for Day Camp, then attend Resident Camp that same summer and be back on track, earning "forward".
2) One of the requirement options for this award is "Earn the Summertime Pack Award", which can only be earned/awarded at the end of summer, and at the rank just completed, not the rank the Scout is pursuing in that summer. This to me is earning-backward.
May 04, 2013 - MJ
Oh, I can answer that one. The Outdoor Activity Award refers BACK to what the Scout was - not to what they currently are as of June 1st. So Scouts who joined in fall of 2012 who have just completed their Tiger trails earn the Tiger OAA. Next Summer they earn the Wolf, and so on. Summers are gray area. A lot of what we do refers back to the prior year - like Elective beads and Arrow points for the older boys - but they're also eligible to begin work on their next rank. In our Pack we designate September 1st as the cut off point. Anything done after that date cannot be retroactively added to the previous year's rank's awards.
May 06, 2013 - Scouter Paul
Packs have the discretion to define their 'program year'. It is usually either June 1st or start of the school year. The way MJ describes summer being a "gray area" is common among packs trying to do the right thing for the scouts, but with incomplete or conflicting definition of award requirements.
Your pack leaders should try to be consistent and fair, but not forego requirements for any awards. For this OAA and the Summertime Pack award, it just seems to be simpler and make more sense to apply it to the rank just being completed.
May 19, 2013 - Jodi H
Also, keep in mind that councils frequently offer Fall and Spring Day Camps, such as Outing for Scouting, so it is possible to earn the Outdoor Activity Award during the school year as, say a Tiger, then be on track to get a Wolf Track Pin as a Wolf by going to summer camp and following up with the Wolf requirements over the course of the program year.
May 21, 2013 - Dwight S
My son recently completed his "Leave no Trace" award as a Wolf. (My understanding is the LNT is a one-time Cub Scout Award...) His wolf year is technically over since the Pack had their bridging/graduation ceremony. My son is interested in the Cub Scout Outdoor Activity Award. Does he need to repeat the LNT award to be eligable to earn the Outdoor Activity Award, or can he move forward with the 5 outdoor activities needed?
May 23, 2013 - Yvonne N P
No, Dwight S.
He doesn't have to repeat LNT.
Just needs to complete the number of outdoor activities for his level.