Hi Adventure for Scouts in other Troops

[Troop185]

Qwazse wrote in another forums:

 

" But, any boy with an opportunity to camp with another troop is in a win-win situation. He gets to learn how other patrols do things and maybe that will inform on what he expects from his patrol (whichever one that winds up being)."

 

Two years ago, one of my favorite Webelos, Matthew join another troop. He had moved into our Feeder Pack in 4th grade, and had been on a couple of trips with me. His best friend had two brothers in the other troop, and he decided to join them. His buddy and him were the only two new scouts in the other troop, that year. We have a large troop, and had 23 new scouts that year.

 

One thing he was really feeling bad about joining the other troop, was he was going to miss a backpacking / climbing trip to the Red River Gorge in Ky., with us. I ask him, "Why don't you come along as a visiting scout?" Well he did, and had a great time. Since then, he went to Hocking Hills in OH. with us this Spring, and spend a week with us in Northern Ontario in August.

 

Several years ago, I had a similar situation. Brian, a scout that had been on several trip with us, moved about 30 miles away, and join another troop. We invited him to check our troop calendar, and join us on any trip he was interested in. Over the years he took us up that, and went on several hi adventure trips with our troop. Everyone was always glad to see Brian, as he was a excellent worker. He made Eagle with the other troop.

 

It seems like a win-win situation. I enjoy seeing Matthew and Brian every once in a while, and they get some great experiences with a different troop.

 

 

[qwazse]

Yes, generally a win-win. On the venturing side, it's almost essential because often you don't have the numbers from your own crew to meet minimums for a particular activity. You can find yourself on a peak or over a reef with mates you just met the day you set out. Falls under "a scout is friendly."

 

One caveat (and I'm especially careful about this in the Troop/Crew scenario): clear it with the boy's SM, especially if he's older. Active boys like this soon become very skilled and hold PORs, but they often can ignore their troop's agenda for something exciting that their buddies in the other unit are doing. You want them to check in before they check out! Falls under "a scout is loyal."

[NeverAnEagle]

We had one family move away, but we still allow their boys to come on High Adventure Trips with us. Last Spring we took both boys with us to the Grand Canyon. It was like a reunion for the boys because they don't get to see each other much now that they are in different states. Next March we will be meeting their new troop and are planning to stop and let the boys have some activities together while headed to our Backpacking Trip in the Red Woods.

 

Last summer we had one boy that couldn't attend camp with us because of family commitments. We arranged for him to attend with another troop in a different week. The lad had such a good time with the other troop that he is going to go to camp with them again next year.

 

I think it's a good idea for the kids to be exposed to others units/ways of doing things. It also limits rivalry, which we have far to much of in our district.

[Bando]

We took a couple of guys along on a trip I went on as a scout. They had met some of our guys on a council-wide Philmont crew, and when we needed a couple extra guys, they were invited to come along. We ended up having a great time, and it couldn't have gone better. One of them ended up coming to our troop for help with his Eagle project because his troop was having some problems, and a lot of our guys went to both of their ECOHs, if memory serves. We all became friends. Ultimately, it was a win for everyone.