Tiger Cubs in Blue Uniforms this Fall

[kenk]

Last night, at our New Cub Rally, our coucil exec told us that starting in the fall Tiger Cubs will be wearing blue uniforms rather than the orange t-shirts.

 

Has anyone else heard that? Are there any descriptions on-line? Is there a new Tiger Cub Handbook?

 

Is there anything else new for for Cub Scouts next year?

[Eagle1973]

Sounds like they want Tigers to spend more money on uniforms that they will soon out grow and then have to spend even more money on uniforms.

[VentureScoutNY]

 

I remember wearing when I was a Tiger wearing the orange shirt. We used to have the iron-on paw prints. Do they still do that?

 

Kenk, I hope your pack has some kind of uniform exchange. A hand-me down program would be great for all the young scouts that grow out of their uniforms.

[fotoscout]

I've not heard anything about this. But, I guess it's not such a bad idea. It's one less uniform to purchase!

 

With the Webelos move to the khaki uniform, the number of blue uniforms ordered by BSA was bound to drop off and result in higher prices. This would probably keep the number of blue uniforms made by the supplier fairly constant and with it the price may remain steady.

 

There are certainly a ton of question that go along with this, like, will Tiger parents be willing to pay $92.36 (yes thats the catalog price for a full CS uniform), for a Tigers uniform?

 

Hey, I didn't realize that the tongue was animated! That's pretty cool.

 

[Proud Eagle]

I remember hearing something about this some time ago. Apparently the idea is to fully integrate the tiger dens into the pack, so that it is more or less just another type of den, rather than a semi-separate program. The change in uniforms is part of that. Also, I think another idea was to have one less reason for tigers to quit after their first year.

 

From what I remember reading, there was supposed to be at least a year that packs could choose either uniform, then it was going to the CS blues only.

 

That is all I can remember, and it may be a bit off since I don't really follow CS issues very much.

[Eagle1973]

I kept the Webelos in the blue shirt as long as I could until the crossover. If they had to buy a larger shirt or we didn't have a larger blue shirt in the "hand me downs", they bought the khaki.

 

For you Navy folk, does this sound familiar? Going from dungarees to khaki is a BIG deal in the USN, I figured I would bring the tradition down to the future of our country.

[CubsRgr8]

It makes perfect sense when you look at the changes already made for the Webelos uniform. This year's 4th grade Webelos are the last to have the choice of the Tiger stripe instead of the Tiger badge. I imagine that the square, blue Webelos badge will soon become extinct.

 

With a little foresight, parents will only have to buy one blue uniform, which should last for three years. Then, they buy a tan uniform when their son enters Webelos, hopefully lasting another three years. This in turn will generate a supply of veteran blue uniforms available for Tigers. It's really not a bad idea.

[ScoutNut]

From what I have read, as of Aug 1, 2004, the official Tiger uniform will be the blue CS shirt. Don't know what they will do about a scarf, although the councils that have been participating in trial runs have been using an orange one. Hopefully a new book is in the offing for the beginning of the year at least!

 

This comes from a memo from the National Cub Scout Exceutive to all council Scout Excutives.

 

Also included in the memo are new recruiting inititives, including a Cub Scout recruitment website. There will also be changes which will allow rechartering with only 1 leader per Pack instead of 1 leader per Cub level.

 

Actually, I have heard that the wording on the uniform issue will be that the official uniform for all Cub Scouts (Tiger, Wolf, Bear, & Webelos) is either the blue Cub Scout uniform or the tan/olive uniform with blue shoulder loops. This would lead me to believe that Tigers can also be in tan!

 

There is supposed to be an official announcement and more info after the National meeting this month. I will wait until then and see what the official, official word actually is.

[fotoscout]

I dont think that any parent could get away with only one blue uniform than move to the tan & green. The boys grow too fast, the size difference between a Tiger and a Bear is huge. Personally I really dislike seeing the boys in uniforms that are way-way too big for them, it just looks sloppy. A little big is OK but too big is NG. Aside from that, many of the parents dont bother to shorten the pants which then become a real safety hazard.

 

I also think that it would be a shame to do away with the blue uniform requirement. That blue uniform is a billboard for Cub Scouts nationwide. I happen to think that it is more recognizable than the BS uniform and has been thru all the iterations of the BS uniform.

 

If what ScoutNut tells us is true, the Cub Scouts will never be uniformed. Some will wear blue, and some will wear tan & green. Uniformed means everyone in the same uniform. Is this a move forward or backward?

 

[ScoutNut]

Well as far as the National Supply Division is concerned it's official! Check out the News Briefs section for a look at the new Tiger uniform.

 

http://www.scoutstuff.org/misc/news.html

 

Looks like the same hat, a blue & orange scarf and the Tiger Totem moves to the pocket.

 

"sigh" I kind of liked the matching adult/kid orange shirts! It made the parents feel more a real Tiger Partner and my Tigers were real easy to spot in a group!

[Twocubdad]

Wow! An actual announcement from national instead of the endless speculation and guessing we usually get. What a concept!

 

I wonder if this means the Tiger parents drop the uniform all together? Ours (usually including the den leaders, although they should be in regular leader uniforms) have always worn the orange t-shirts along with the Tiger Cubs.

[eaglewings2002]

My oldest made it through with only one blue shirt. Of course he was swimming in it in Wolves and it was getting a little tight by the time he was done. I bought a child's large. Now I have had donations from friends as their boys graduated and I will be able to put my new Tiger in a small blue shirt and move him on up (I HATE sewing patches on al the time!!)

 

I agree that uniform is supposed to be uniform. I like the Tigers being in blue but I think the Webelos should be too. We have boys in our Webelos den in both colors and I do not think it looks good. I also do not like that the boys have to quit wearing their past achievements (arrow points, etc). Webelos are not litle Boy Scouts, they are Cub Scouts. BSA seems to be making them into little Boy Scouts even going so far in our council as telling us we have to pick a troop and start meeting with them next year. (that's a whole 'nother topic I guess )

 

Personally I think BSA is always looking for ways to get more money out of us. I would like to keep the Tigers in their t-shirts for that reason. There is no reason in the world a blue (or khaki) shirt needs to cost that much, it is a huge pet peeve of mine.

[fotoscout]

I especially like the blue socks with the orange trim. Socks must be a high profit item.

 

This uniform topic was brought up at a District meeting this week. Everyone laughed and shook their heads. Apparently the DChair and DC had previously talked about this. They had the greatest laugh, and kiddingly let us know that this particular discussion had to be continued in the parking lot. To say the least, there was not much support for this change. I would not be surprised to see our Council come up with a plan of their own. Maybe, Pack tee shirts and uniform pants.

 

The official notification puts this in the contexts of more fully integrating the Tigers with the Pack. To me this sounds utterly ridiculous. The issue of integrating the Tigers is a training issue, not a uniform issue. As it is right now, some Packs fully integrate their Tigers and some dont. All it would take to have full integration is an instruction to make the Tigers and equal part of the pack.

 

Remember $92.36!

 

[caddmommy]

In regard to teh Webelos uniform from blue to tan.

 

My boys move up to 2nd year webelos this week but I really don't like the mixing of the colors in the den. I plan to talk to my parents. Either we stay all blue or we go all tan.

[johnsned]

This is from the BSA Official website www.scouting.org

 

TIGER CUB UNIFORM CHANGING..Effective August 1, 2004, the official Tiger Cub uniform will be the complete blue Cub Scout uniform with identifiable and appropriate Tiger Cub insignia. This change is in line with the program's continuing efforts to promote Tiger Cubs as an integral part of a Cub Scout pack. More information on the uniform changes will be forthcoming.

 

 

Here is the link to See the new Tiger Cub Uniform

http://www.scoutstuff.org/misc/art/tigercub.jpg