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Wood Badge frequency


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Back during Boy Scout Wood Badge days, my Council (West Central Florida) ran a course on 2 year cycles. Even then sometimes we scrambled to meet the minimum number of participants. When WB21C came around, that tradition continued because "it's what has always been done". We now run on an 18 month cycle with the courses altering between spring or fall. We average around 40 participants. It's still difficult to recruit even with it priced at $175.

 

Late summer-fall courses can be problematic.....it's the height of hurricane season and you have to keep updated on the weather.

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Tokala,

 

Your course was only $175 mine was $265, clothing extra. Wish I'd come your way.

 

Courses here are offered yearly in the fall. We have had problems filling them. Mine was given a week extension on registration by the Central Region because they knew that there'd be 3 cousres within a 4 hour drive of our site canceled the same week as we were supposed to close registration. All the cousres started and ended within a 2 week span of each other.

 

It is always a struggle here and in the neighboring councils to fill courses. There are 4 councils around us that cluster, us and 2 more that try to go it alone. I couldn't imagine trying to cluster 7 councils together to it twice a year, but that'd be the only we get 2 courses a year to go.

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trainerlady: We hold our courses at our camps. We DO NOT add on all the "schwag" that many Councils like to do. We don't add a t-short, jacket, stuffed critter, ad naseum and jack up the price. Each particpant gets a mug/cup and a patch. We realize that it's difficult enough to recruit people and adding $75-125 of fluff won't help...or make the course any better.

 

nolesrules: Sorry, even if the mercury doesn't ever rise above 50 for 3 days in Florida, it will always be 72 and sunny at Gilwell!

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I attended WB in my previous Council (Central Florida)... Tokala, one of my Patrol Mates was from the West Coast that came over to attend the course. When I asked him, he said that your council didn't offer too many.

 

The only thing now is that I'm "shunned" from serving as staff at my new council since I went out of council. Oh well....I was asked if I wanted to serve as an ASM for NYLT this summer...but I'll be too busy doing stuff with the Lodge.(This message has been edited by eaglescout1996)

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Our charge here is $240, but that includes all the literature, a course shirt, mug, caribeener, hat, camping fees, insurance, food, program supplies, the media use fee, facility fees (porta potties), etc...

 

We had it down to $220, but we had to dip into out contingency fund to make it work, so up it went to $240.

 

The staff also pays $120.

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Our Council offers WB once every OTHER year, in the spring, 2-weekend format. We let the current group have their 18 months, then we're ready to recruit for the next one. I doubt we would have the support or demand to offer it more frequently than that. For the past 2 courses, we have been full (48-50 participants) but it was slim-pickin's before then.

clyde

 

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