Murdy

Those are new training options, but to officially have a waterfront you need to have BSA Guards. The instructions for supervision is just like SSD because all it requires is someone to watch the water not a guard. Also, acording to National Camp Standards it only requires that half of the waterfront staff be quards... either BSA or RedCross it doesn't matter (not sure about YMCA). Also when your son goes to get trained for BSA if he is already RC then ask them because there are less things he has to do for it.

Here is a simple way to think about it: It is summer camp they should be doing summercamp stuff, if they want to play Uno all day then they should stay at home and play it there and not pay the $200. A way you can encourage the games is by limiting what can be brought up to camp. As being on all sides: a leader, scout, and staff within the last 8 years. I feel that camp is a great experience and that scouts should participate in all of it that they can. Personally in our troop it always ends up that the camp wide games end up on the night of our high adventure overnight so it is the younger kids that participate in it and it is great. If you have a challange or different opinion please respond as I have more I could say but dont think it needs to.

OK as a NCS Aquatic Director, from my knowlege this is how it goes. Red Cross is actually less cerification then BSA is because there is rescues with and without tubes, plus there is a way to certify a BSA guard who is already a Red Cross Guard with just a few new skills being taught.

I would be careful with giving out too many mentor pins just for the fact that a mentor should be someone who has influenced the scout. It should be a hard choice on who gets it and if there is a tie then maybe a second should be given out. I think that the scout should sit down with either parents and/or leaders and discuss why exactly he is choosing someone. While I know that the scout probably wants the three people to feel appreciated it is also meant to show who has had the most influence. MY feeling is that if too many are given out it deflates the significance of the award.

In our troop the eagle scout coordinator is actually usually made up of some mothers and they work on planning the eagle ceremonies with the scout. As for having somone who helps a scout get on their way it seems like all of you are pushing the kids too much... no offense. But if they want Eagle Scout they should put the effort into it, not the leaders pushing them too(you do need to encourage them though.) Also it seems from what I have heard that the mentor pins are being used as just a patch for a job... they should be an honor.