Varsity Uniform

[tortdog]

I understand that Varsity scouts can design their own T-shirts and wear them as an activity uniform (with the field uniform worn as appropriate).

 

For some time we have done this, and each team has its own T-shirt with team logo. My question is regarding the shorts. We want to "standardize" on the uniform all the way to the shorts (with white athletic socks). I see no guidance from the BSA, other than a few unofficial sites stating the shorts should be "non-uniform" brown. Certainly the official BSA shorts are not an option for most of our activities, which include canoeing, basketball and swimming. (Can you imagine a those pockets and belt in a swimming or basketball tournament?)

 

Can anyone point me to something "official", or otherwise what other teams have done? We are leaning to standardizing our teams to all-black athletic shorts with drawstrings that reach to the knees (similar to the NBA) and could be worn with any of our activities (including swimming or basketball).

[Torveaux]

Why would you want drawstrings that reach to your knees?

 

Do the right thing. Wear items appropriate to the task.

[Bob White]

You are free to wear what you like to suit your activity, but it will not be a Varsity Scouting Uniform. The "Activity Uniform" for Varsity as for troops is a scoutig T-shirt or polo, scout shorts or pants, scout belt, and scout socks.

 

There are times when being out of uniform is perfectly fine and other times when being in uniform is more appropriate.

 

BW

[tortdog]

The Sam Houston Area Council just informed me that the Varsity units can elect to make their own activity uniform, using any designed T-shirt and any suitable shorts, with white socks appropriate.

 

I knew we could on the T-shirts, but did not know it included the shorts. SHAC also had never heard the "non-official" brown requirement for the shorts.

 

Thanks for the input.

[Bob White]

I have never heard of the non-uniform brown either. where diod you see that? All the BSA uniform resources I have seen on Varsity is identical to troop policies.

[tortdog]

I think they piggy-backed on each other.

 

http://www.troop97.net/bsahist3.htm

 

http://www.pattersontroop440.org/Content/BSA-History.htm

 

This reference also notes brown shorts:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varsity_Scouts

 

We're going with black athletic shorts with short drawstrings...

[Bob White]

While all three sites are unofficial the first two are filled with errors and have not been updated in 5 years. The third site you refer to says:

 

"Varsity Scouts use the same uniform as Boy Scouts with the following changes/additions:

use of the orange shoulder loops

use of the "Varsity" uniform strip above the "Boy Scouts of America" strip."

 

I agree with that statement.

[tortdog]

I think that's an accurate description of the Varsity field uniform.

[Trevorum]

Being somewhat unfamiliar with Varsity Scouting, can someone explain to me what a Team offers that a Venturing Crew does not? From what I can tell, Varsity Teams sound like Crews for 14+ boys but just with a sports focus, instead of high adventure (or whatever). Like troops, crews are not coed and membership teminates at 18. Do teams have their own methods? Given the choice, why would a 14+ boy want to join a Team or a Crew?

 

I don't even think there are any Varsity Teams in our district - is Varsity Scouting some 1980s program experiment that didn't really gel?

[Bob White]

Varsity Teams are used primarily by the LDS Church. It is a part of the Boy Scout program (as opposed to the Cub Scout or Venturing program which are separate.) It is a differnt kind of Boy Scout unit. It is not strictly Sports oriented but can be. They can also be high adventure oriented. Varsity Scouts follow the same advancement path as Boy Scouts with some additiona activity based awards available.

[tortdog]

>Being somewhat unfamiliar with Varsity Scouting, can someone explain to me what a Team offers that a Venturing Crew does not? From what I can tell, Varsity Teams sound like Crews for 14+ boys but just with a sports focus, instead of high adventure (or whatever). Like troops, crews are not coed and membership teminates at 18. Do teams have their own methods? Given the choice, why would a 14+ boy want to join a Team or a Crew?

 

I see a Varsity team as a mix between a troop and a crew. Troops are led by the adults (heavily), while crews are led by the youth (heavily). With a team, you have an adult coach who leads, but a youth captain beside him.

 

As Bob said, Varsity is not just about sports, it's about outdoors, service, and personal development as well.

 

The main difference I see between Varsity and Venturing is that Varsity focuses on one skill every 3 months (like Venturing) but then turns into a competitive tournament where those skills are used by the boys (like a high school varsity team). Also...Varsity is for boys only (as opposed to Venturing).

 

We are pushing our Varsity teams to a format similar to high school or YMCA teams. In fact, one Varsity team in our council competes in a YMCA league. Our goal is to provide a Varsity league that provides Varsity teams with the "format" and "program" so that it can compete against other Varsity teams on a regular basis (just like the YMCA offers).

 

>I don't even think there are any Varsity Teams in our district - is Varsity Scouting some 1980s program experiment that didn't really gel?

 

I don't think the Varsity program is kicking hard in many councils across the nation.

[Trevorum]

Thanks, Bob and tortdog. I had heard that Varsity was somehow related to LDS but I thought it was misinformation, having a hard time believing that BSA would create an entire program just for one religious sect (why not Episcopalians?)

 

But that begs the question, what is so different about Varsity Scouting that it appeals to LDS boys and few others? Why do LDS boys join a Team and not a Crew? Is there some difference in the relationship betwen the unit and the CO? I can't believe that LDS guys are that much more involved in athletics than other faith groups ...

[tortdog]

I think the reason the LDS Church pushed hard for a Varsity program was because the Church divides the youth into three groups: 12-13; 14-15 and 16-18. The Church handbook emphasizes that those groups (or quorums) maintain its quorum identity as much as possible, i.e., no mixing 12-year olds with 16-year olds as a standard practice.

 

When there wasn't a Varsity program, the 16+ went into Venturing, but the 14-15 group was left in the middle wondering what to do (separate troop?? and in the LDS Church every young man must register for Boy Scouts). I understand that the Church approached the BSA with the problem, and together they realized that 14-15s had different needs/desires than the younger scouts. Wah-lah...Varsity was born. It gave the BSA a tool to use for older scouts tired of tying knots, while giving the LDS Church a BSA unit it could put its 14-15 year olds in.

 

However...the LDS units stunk at supporting it and when it was rolled out no one really knew what it did. (I remember well.) So Varsity has kind of just floundered (don't get me started on the failure of LDS units to push their BSA leaders to get trained).

 

Now, there are some councils that are running it right, principally where the LDS Church is actually doing what it's supposed to in regard to Varsity, and in those councils it really works. SHAC is just getting it together with three active Varsity teams that compete against each other as of this year (out of a total or probably 40-45 Varsity teams). Our goal is to grow the SHAC Varsity to a YMCA-type group...with intramural play. Not just limited to sports, but you can have music (band competitions), theater (competing plays with Oscar-type awards) and even mechanics (give each team a broken vehicle and see which teams identify and solve the problems the fastest). If you catch the vision of the program, it's great and frankly the boys at that age group LOVE the competition (as long as they are trained during the 3-month program).

 

Finally, I've seen first hand that mixing youth of one age group is not necessarily the best practice. 16-year olds have different wants/abilities than most 14-year olds (e.g., girls, jobs and cars). When we have mixed our Varsity with our Venturing, we inevitably find the younger boys "out of their element" as the Venturing youth (all 16+ in our unit) talk about the dates, cars, etc. that we'd really rather the Varsity (14-15) not focus on.

 

Sooo...it's convenient to keep the youth age groups separated.

 

Last words and how it has begun to really work with our units. We have a killer troop. The Cubs/Webelos look forward to crossing over and becoming Boy Scouts. For the last year, we have had a killer Varsity troop, with quarterly tournaments and skilled coaches that teach the boys how to really master a skill. At this point, the Boy Scouts look FORWARD to graduating from the troop and joining the Varsity team. Unfortunately for our Varsity team members, our Venturing crew is weak. By the time the boys hit 16, they are wondering why our Crew isn't doing the cool things that the Varsity was.

 

So for us, Varsity keeps the youth in intense scouting through at least 15. We just need to get our Crew to give them even better things at 16+.(This message has been edited by tortdog)

[Trevorum]

tortdog, thanks for an excellent explanation! It clears up a lot. So, LDS COs use the Varsity program sort of like how we use a Venture Patrol for our 14-15 year olds. This also explains why many of the LDS troops are smaller in size - they have an age ceiling.

[tortdog]

BTW, just last week a rep from my council contacted me and informed me that a non-LDS unit was looking to form a Varsity team to compete with other Varsity teams. Frankly, I can hardly wait because I am willing to bet that Varsity team will be formed because it WANTS to be formed (with trained leaders) as opposed to so many Varsity teams that are formed only because it is LDS Church policy. For some reason the LDS packs/troops get it, and the LDS crews sometimes get it, but the LDS Varsity teams rarely get what's to be gotten.

 

Maybe if the leaders in those teams actually got trained...