Wood Badge frequency

[shortridge]

This year, my council offered Wood Badge twice - once in the spring, once in the fall, both using the two-weekend format. Next year, it's only being offered once, in September.

 

Is it standard to only run a Wood Badge course once a year?

[ScoutBox]

Over here in my Council it's normal. Smaller Council with less adult members. We try for over 40 adults every year too attend, but my course was only 36. SO I guess it depends on demand, and supply of adults.

 

Don't know about the other Councils on here. Another problem here was timing. The DoD teachers complained about th etiming of the course. So it was changed, and no one from the Dod Schools attended..

[jhankins]

My council holds two weekend format courses per year. We're looking at possibly adding a third in the next few years. The Spring course is Th-Saturday and usually has 36 participants. The Fall Course is always full to 48, and went to 54 in '09.

 

The council south of us only has Wood Badge every other year. The other councils in my area all hold Wood Badge twice a year, or hold a cluster course every year.

 

 

[moosetracker]

Ours is only run once a year. the last 3 years they have been full, before that they were not and our antelope were getting pretty extinct. During our woodbadge dinner every March there was usually only one or two antelope for the "Back to Gilwell" song.

 

I doubt our council will ever run two, which is all well and good, it is a huge production to put one on. Never thought of us as a small council, as we are pretty much all of New Hampshire except for a town or two. (for some reason they thought a council being all of one state was a monopoly, so a town or two had to belong to a Massachusetts Council.)

 

Maybe we are people would be considered small people wise, as our south is populated, but not our north.

 

I know my director stunk, and it was the worst year possible to take it, but all the ones before or after him were fabulous, and they filled their courses based with alot of people who wanted to attend the course that "so & so" lead.

 

I still had a good time based on the other staff members, and those in my patrol. Just the director who did not send out notice you were accepted into woodbadge and what to bring until the week before the course. Then in front of the participants laughed about loosing a few participants, but getting to keep their money anyway due to the no refund policy. I was one who canceled due to the poor organization, then when I found I would not get my money back, I went without notifing them I was coming causing them to scramble. They had someone come over to talk to me knowing I was starting off the course in a foul mood. But, I sincerly did not think it fair to pass my mood onto my patrol.

 

Anyway you can bet anytime the director was around he could say or do nothing right by me. And his attitude grated on me, luckily the one you dealt with most was not the course director, but the SPL and I liked him. He was fabulous. He was course director the following year, and my course director was retired and not on staff after that.

[Basementdweller]

We are a mega council and it is only offered once a year. It is a 3 hour drive on interstates to get a crossed it. I drive 40 minutes to round table one way. So our council is geographically large.

 

 

 

[EJCrimmins]

Our Council is part of a cluster that rotates hosting Wood Badge courses. There are four councils on a three year rotation. Two years there is one course, the third the northernmost and southernmost councils host a course. All of the courses have staffers and participants from the other councils so we share in both resources and knowledge. My council hosted a course this year so the next course hosted by the council will be in 2013.

[eaglescout1996]

Currently our council conducts three Wood Badge Courses...spring, summer, and fall. All three are at or near capacity. It's part of our "training culture"...so the council likes to get all leaders an opprotuntiy to attend.

 

 

[John-in-KC]

The Council I took WB from, not my home Council, offers it once every 2 years.

 

Why did I go out of Council? I wanted to be exposed to different Scouters doing things not exactly the same as my Council did it. It was a perspective thing.

[ScoutBox]

Is there a chance that some of you could fill out your account information. I'm interested in seeing who's talking, and what council they are from...

[Eagle69]

It's once a year in Quapaw Council in Arkansas. There isn't enough participants or staffers to offer it more often.

[jr56]

We would like to have it every year (Glacier's Edge Council) WI.

But we have been doing it every other year lately.

[Rockford8070]

Our council did/is doing it 3 times this year. Spring and Fall were the two weekend format. The summer course they went with a solid week format. I haven't heard how that went though.

 

I think normally it's twice a year for us.

[infoscouter]

Our council offers three a year, sometimes its Spring, Summer, and Fall. Sometimes Fall, Winter and Spring. A Winter course in Minnesota - goofy people running around singing in shorts and knee socks in February! :-)

[JFL49]

shortridge, it depends.

 

Councils are encouraged to offer Wood Badge as frequently as possible. Having said that, Wood Badge is usually not offered unless there are at least 30 participants; and the maximum recommended course size is 48 participants. So a Council that has trouble recruiting 30 participants per year might be better served offering the program every other year, or join with an adjacent Council to offer the program yearly. A Council Wood Badge course that is consistently oversubsribed (48 participants plus a waiting list) may not be meeting the demand with a single course and would therefore be encouraged to offer more than one course per year.

 

I'm guessing that your Council offered two courses that barely met the minimum requirements of 30 participants (and perhaps struggled to get to the 30), and feels it will be more productive to offer one course next year, and hope to fill it with 48 participants.

[BrentAllen]

Our Council (Atlanta Area) is currently running 3 courses per year - spring, summer, fall. Most are two-weekend formats.