Tent Camping Rules

[MattHiggins]

Age appropriate and separate accommodations for adults and Scouts required.

 

• Tenting

  When camping, no one is permitted to sleep with a person of the opposite sex or an adult other than his or her own spouse, parent, or guardian. Assigning youth members more than two years apart in age to sleep in the same tent should be avoided unless the youth are relatives.

 

 

As you may recognize, that is from Guide to Safe Scouting. It isn't found under camping, but under "Scouting's Barriers to Abuse."

 

We have a Webelos campout coming up. It's a single night event, but we want to give them more experience than they get at our pack campout, which is technically camping but we eat in a lit pavilion, have the food basically catered, sleep in tents in a field, have a fire started and maintained for us my a local troop and don't get any real outdoors experience. A lot of our kids that crossover get camping-culture shock on their first Boy Scout campout even if they guest-camped with a troop as Webelos. I'm sure it's a familiar story.

 

So, I gently pushed our Webelos and AOL leaders to schedule a campout. Then a local troop gives us this brand new large cabin-style tent. It's huge, heavy and I'm guessing they had no use for it as they don't have a pack mule. Based on the Guide to Safe Scouting, adults and Cubs can't sleep in it together even if adult leadership was always two deep, which means I'd have to have at least three adults in there. I'm fine with that, but if I'm reading this correctly, we could have multiple Webelos sleep in the tent.

 

On one hand the BSA promotes more independence at the Webelos level, but states when camping that "In most cases, the Webelos Scout will be under the supervision of his parent or guardian." In the cases where a parent isn't there, what are the sleeping arrangements? The BSA recognizes that there won't always be a parent present, but states adults and youth get separate accommodations when using tents. So, I believe that the big cabin tent can be used as long as only Webelos are in it. Is this correct?

 

When I was a Scout, about once a year, our troop used a huge canvas wall tent that literally held a couple dozen people easily. Unless, I'm missing something that wouldn't fly under today's requirements.

Edited September 21, 2015 by MattHiggins

[mattman578]

I have with council's approval had the Webelos share the same tent all by themselves !!! they were 300 ft away from me and there parents (the father you are away from us the more noise you can make)  and they had a great time.Parents and siblings were not allowed in the tent or even near the tent !!!  Now there parents were there on the camp out alone with other cub parents and they had a great time i mean really good time they were even quite at night witch really surprised me 

[SlowDerbyRacer]

While not stated, i assume (dangerous) the intent is to avoid 2 people in a tent in an improper situation.  A cabin style tent style is different as it is a large group setting and should be treated no different than regular cabins that are at scout camps all across the country.

 

Just my opinion...

[Renax127]

As you may recognize, that is from Guide to Safe Scouting. It isn't found under camping, but under "Scouting's Barriers to Abuse."

 

We have a Webelos campout coming up. It's a single night event, but we want to give them more experience than they get at our pack campout, which is technically camping but we eat in a lit pavilion, have the food basically catered, sleep in tents in a field, have a fire started and maintained for us my a local troop and don't get any real outdoors experience. A lot of our kids that crossover get camping-culture shock on their first Boy Scout campout even if they guest-camped with a troop as Webelos. I'm sure it's a familiar story.

 

So, I gently pushed our Webelos and AOL leaders to schedule a campout. Then a local troop gives us this brand new large cabin-style tent. It's huge, heavy and I'm guessing they had no use for it as they don't have a pack mule. Based on the Guide to Safe Scouting, adults and Cubs can not sleep in it together even if adult leadership was always two deep, which means I'd have to have at least three adults in there. I'm fine with that, but if I'm reading this correctly, we could have multiple Webelos sleep in the tent.

 

One on hand the BSA promotes more independence at the Webelos level, but states when camping that "In most cases, the Webelos Scout will be under the supervision of his parent or guardian." In the cases where a parent isn't there, what are the sleeping arrangements? The BSA recognizes that there won't always be a parent present, but states adults and youth get separate accommodations when using tents. So, I believe that the big cabin tent can be used as long as only Webelos are in it. Is this correct?

 

When I was a Scout, about once a year, our troop used a huge canvas wall tent that literally held a couple dozen people easily. Unless, I'm missing something that wouldn't fly under today's requirements.

Go get some cheap $20 4 man tents from Walmart (if you can afford it) or ask any Boy Scout troop to borrow some tents. The Webelos are allowed to tent with a buddy, their parents doesn't need to be in the tent with them, just on the trip. So shared tents aren't an issue. I wouldn't use a big tent for camping with Webelos anyway, they should be camping much like Boy Scouts do.

[Eagledad]

With young scouts, multiply the noise level and time awake by the number of scouts in the tent.

 

Barry

[Stosh]

My younger boys are usually so worn out by the end of the day that the adults sitting around the campfire in the evening make more noise than the sleeping boys.  Often it's hard to wake the boys up at the evening campfire and get them back to the tents for the night.  They're like zombies after 9:00 pm.

[5yearscouter]

I'd stick all the boys in the big tent together and have the adult tents as far away as you/parents can handle.

And then when they are up all night long Friday night, Saturday night they will retire to sleep early and it will be nice and quiet the second night. 

Then when they are done with that, then borrow some smaller tents and have them buddy up two in a tent like the boy scouts and do similarly. 

So they can see more than one way to camp.

Then pass the huge tent down to the next level boys so they can give it a try.

[T2Eagle]

 Then a local troop gives us this brand new large cabin-style tent. It's huge....

 

 

Beware SMs bearing gifts.

 

There previously was guidance in the G2SS that covered adults and youth sharing dormitory or barracks style cabins and other accommodations.  The gist of it was that you put up some type of sheet or curtain to provide privacy, especially for changing.  You never know with BSA when they rewrite things whether they intend to make drastic change, such as the idea that adults and kids can no longer share cabins, or whether it is just an oversight, or whether they want it to be deliberately vague.

 

Put all your Webelos in together, they'll have a blast but get no sleep.

Edited September 22, 2015 by T2Eagle

[Stosh]

When I was in Scouts, the troop had a number of options.  They had the old 2 man Explorer tents, for those who buddied up, they allowed small personal tents that could sleep up to 3 or 4, and they had large wall tents that the whole patrol could bunk up in.  Those that didn't mind a bit of noise and a lot of snoring, went the wall tent option, I always went with the Explorer tent until I brought one of my own.  Everyone ended up getting what they wanted.

[perdidochas]

With young scouts, multiply the noise level and time awake by the number of scouts in the tent.

 

Barry

 

Not sure if you multiply it, or if it's a exponential function. 

[DuctTape]

Not sure if you multiply it, or if it's a exponential function.

 

I eas thinking the same thing.