HubScouter

The Tiger Cub Den Leader Award requirements are confusing because they are not based on that job or even the Tiger program as we know it. When the Tiger program was introduced in the early 1980's, there was no such position as Tiger Den Leader. There were no beads, no Tiger book, no Tiger rank (just a Tiger Cub Graduate patch) no Go-See-Its, no blue uniforms worn and the Tigers were only invited to no more than three total pack meetings and pack activities. Tiger meetings were to be held once a month, hosted by each Tiger Cub partner family. Each pack had a Tiger Cub Coach. This role was like an Assistant Cubmaster whose job was to guide the parent-son partners that made up this leader-less den. The Tiger Cub Coach did not ordinarily have a son in the den. The requirements for this knot are based on that job, not that of Tiger Den Leader. The original name of this knot was the Tiger Cub Group Coach Award, then the Tiger Cub Coach Award. The name of the knot was changed around 2001 after Tiger Den Leaders were finally an official part of the program. Here is an old website that still shows the requirements for the Tiger Cub Group Coach Award: http://www.scoutingbsa.org/Programs/CubScouts/CubScout_Adult_Leader_Awards/Tiger_Cub_Group_Coach_Award.html What you will notice is the requirements are EXACTLY the same as the Tiger Cub Den Leader Award. Even though the job of Tiger Den Leader is very different than Tiger Cub Group Coach, the requirements were never updated. I once heard talk of discontinuing this award, since (some might say) the job of Tiger Den Leader is no different than that of Wolf or Bear Den Leader. Personally, I think Tiger Den Leader will always be a different job with its own special challenges, no matter how closely we incorporate Tigers dens into the pack. In any case, since the award is still around, it really is time the requirements are updated. (My two cents.) Yes, I am sure some people have found ways to interpret these requirements so they make sense, but they were designed for something very different.