Venturing Fest 2016

[qwazse]

If your crew has

• at least 5 youth and 2 adults who are free July 31-Aug 5,
• $400 each participant ($300 each adult),
• plus transport.

Summit Bechtel Reserve may be the place to be:

 

http://www.summitbsa.org/venturingfest/

 

Scuttlebutt has that the National Venturing Youth Cabinet is putting this together in coordination with SBR staff.

[NJCubScouter]

I don't think our affiliated Venturing crew will be going, I just found out they gave up the ghost and did not recharter at the end of the year.  

[qwazse]

I don't think our affiliated Venturing crew will be going, I just found out they gave up the ghost and did not recharter at the end of the year.  

Don't feel too bad. Our crew's "on the brink" as well. If I can't cycle in new blood (both in terms of graduating 8th graders and in terms of passionate adults) next year might close it out.

 

In that context, I'm a little concerned that an event like this may be a distraction.

[Stosh]

What seems to be the hassle with the Crews shutting down?  The boys in the crew I started have lasted almost 17 years now.

[qwazse]

What seems to be the hassle with the Crews shutting down?  The boys in the crew I started have lasted almost 17 years now.

Three things conspired in my crew

• Advisor stressors: by the time our youngest were coming up between me and my co-advisor, we had eight kids between us in college or "between jobs." Our replacements weren't forthcoming. The best candidates were getting jobs elsewhere.
• Girls who didn't want to camp and boys who only wanted to camp. No unified vision for the "next big thing." No desire to meet enough to build that vision.
• Increased registration fees. I've discussed this elsewhere. For the money, high school kids in my community can have just as fun a weekend hiking and camping independently on their own.

The first two are local. Other crews are popping up annually thanks to GS/USA's inconsistent late-teen program or BSA's domineering SM's. The third is global.

[Advisor Tom]

This will be AWESOME!!

 

I came up with 4 options for a summer Super Activity this summer. Venturingfest was a last minute addition.  I sent all the adults, including myself out of the room. They chose by unanimous vote that we would go to Venturingfest. It's got a flexible real High Adventure program.  

 

The best part of this is that this event will be run by youth. The National youth cabinet will run it!  I want my crew to see that they can do anything even host an enormous event like this.  

 

Can you imagine how cool it will be to see a sea of green shirts heading down to the closing ceremony?  I know not like Jambo, but still it will be amazing.

 

I can't wait!

[Advisor Tom]

NJCubScouter, on 09 Feb 2016 - 5:19 PM, said:

I don't think our affiliated Venturing crew will be going, I just found out they gave up the ghost and did not recharter at the end of the year.   

 

What a great way to reinvigorate a crew!  Ask.  They just might want to get the band back together!

Edited February 15, 2016 by Advisor Tom

[blw2]

at a recent committee mtg, we were discussing the idea of using a venture patrol as an effort to hold the older scouts.  Our SM has had experience in the past with Venture crews pulling the older scouts out of the troop instead of in addition to the troop, so he's against the idea.  He's promoting the idea of encouraging a patrol.

 

Sort of like the Leader Corps I've seen discussed here before.... or maybe call it an older scout patrol.

 

Since I'm relatively new, I look at it from a bit more of a neutral perspective.  In my thinking it makes sense that a crew would likely distract.

The whole idea of a different rank/advancement structure and a split unit just really seems to be over complicated and a bad idea.

But, 

in my thinking... if done right the idea of higher adventure and older scouts hanging with older scouts makes total sense.   It's all the stuff that I would have liked to do as a teen, and I imagine that it would still appeal to a lot of them now.

I like the idea of the different shirt color.  Sets them apart.... kinda like the Beret used to be in the military.... or paratroopers blousing their trousers.

and I like the idea of coed.

But it just seems to me it's a better aproach to do all of this within the troop rather than competing against the troop.  I just don't understand what they were thinking in setting up a separate program.

[Stosh]

at a recent committee mtg, we were discussing the idea of using a venture patrol as an effort to hold the older scouts.  Our SM has had experience in the past with Venture crews pulling the older scouts out of the troop instead of in addition to the troop, so he's against the idea.  He's promoting the idea of encouraging a patrol.

 

Sort of like the Leader Corps I've seen discussed here before.... or maybe call it an older scout patrol.

 

Since I'm relatively new, I look at it from a bit more of a neutral perspective.  In my thinking it makes sense that a crew would likely distract.

The whole idea of a different rank/advancement structure and a split unit just really seems to be over complicated and a bad idea.

But, 

in my thinking... if done right the idea of higher adventure and older scouts hanging with older scouts makes total sense.   It's all the stuff that I would have liked to do as a teen, and I imagine that it would still appeal to a lot of them now.

I like the idea of the different shirt color.  Sets them apart.... kinda like the Beret used to be in the military.... or paratroopers blousing their trousers.

and I like the idea of coed.

But it just seems to me it's a better aproach to do all of this within the troop rather than competing against the troop.  I just don't understand what they were thinking in setting up a separate program.

 

For the most part, there are a couple of things that draw people to the Venturing program that is different than the Boy Scout program.  Coed is the first item on the list.  However, the one or two gals that get picked up along the way usually don't justify the huge amount of energy needed to initiate and maintain a Venturing Crew.  Simply the energy and cost to maintain two programs doesn't always justify the effort.  A lot of Venturing Crews are sporadic, ad hoc for a special event, or are professional staff at summer camp. 

 

So, on the other hand a Venture Patrol program would be another option, but that runs counter to the whole concept of mixed-aged patrols.  One cannot have a patrol of just the older, experienced, boys going off and doing high adventure activities all the time and leaving the rest of the troop without it's creme crop of leaders. 

 

Of course, being the BSA heretic that I am, I see a very easy case being made for the new orientation level patrols where the boys focus on getting acclimated to the troop operations and focusing in on rank advancement to begin with.  Then there are the middle aged patrols that are helping out as Instructors, TG's, DC's etc. that are still doing advancement, but more on the MB/POR level.  The older aged boys are the ones that have the "been there, done that" mentality that need to go above and beyond the mundane summer camp, camporee, types of events and get into the whitewater canoeing, the BWCA, Philmont, Sea Base, AT hiking, RAGBRAI or whatever peaks their interest.

 

Now it takes a bit more work (but not as much as setting up a whole different organization) to run 3 different programs within the program than it does to mix up everyone in patrols and run a generic one-size-fits-all type of program.  To each his own, but I don't see it being a big draw for the Venture Patrol candidates to be all that interested in teaching the New Scout Patrol candidates how to tie square knots.  To me, the needs of the boys change over the course of 7 years.  6th grade boys and seniors in high school, do NOT mix.  They run in different social circles, they have different maturity levels, they have different interest levels and to think that a one-size-fits all program is the answer doesn't work for me.  I play to the audience I have in front of me. 

 

Tonight I have a scout meeting and the vast majority of the scouts in the room are going to be Webelos II scouts working on their AOL and the minority of the boys will be last year's Webelos II boys acting as WDC/TG helping them out.  I can say for certain, the subject of BWCA and/or Philmont will not be topic of discussion.  AOL and working on memorization of the Law and Oath will probably work better for the evening.

 

Now, if I had a multiple aged troop, with multiple aged patrols, I'm thinking that within each patrol there would be 3-4 different topics being discussed at the same time.  Some patrols would be interested in advancement, others service and leadership and still others might want to dream a bit about Philmont, BWCA or some other high adventure opportunity they could create for themselves.

 

I see no major advantage for having mixed patrols other than the ease of implementing a one-size-fits-all program which is easier to control and corral.

[blw2]

.....To each his own, but I don't see it being a big draw for the Venture Patrol candidates to be all that interested in teaching the New Scout Patrol candidates how to tie square knots.  To me, the needs of the boys change over the course of 7 years.  6th grade boys and seniors in high school, do NOT mix.  They run in different social circles, they have different maturity levels, they have different interest levels and to think that a one-size-fits all program is the answer doesn't work for me.  I play to the audience I have in front of me. 

...

We've beat this one to death, but I couldn't agree more.

Except it seems to me the venture patrol candidates might be willing and maybe even interested in helping the younger boys once in awhile.  Kinda seems to me that it could be encouraged on an occasional basis.... Keeps them 'grounded' in the troop, helps them in working with others, etc... and it gives the young boys a role model and so on.

This being one reason why it makes more sense to me, to do it as a patrol rather than a separate unit.

[qwazse]

We've beat this one to death, but I couldn't agree more.

Except it seems to me the venture patrol candidates might be willing and maybe even interested in helping the younger boys once in awhile.  Kinda seems to me that it could be encouraged on an occasional basis.... Keeps them 'grounded' in the troop, helps them in working with others, etc... and it gives the young boys a role model and so on.

This being one reason why it makes more sense to me, to do it as a patrol rather than a separate unit.

Makes no difference. It's the attitude of the advisors and what they expect from their venturers. I expect my crew to help their youngn's (GS. or BS. or other). If they're not, I don't have time for them.

 

The undesired behavior can appear in venture patrols. (Going off to H/As, never camping with the troop, etc ...) But, at least if they get all elitist on you, you won't have wasted much in terms of paperwork, specific training, etc ...

 

I've reiterated this again and again ... unless there's a compelling need in a community for youth beyond the boys in your troop to be engaged in this level of scouting and leaders (youth and adult) with the vision to bring it to pass ... don't bother forming the crew.

[Stosh]

We've beat this one to death, but I couldn't agree more.

Except it seems to me the venture patrol candidates might be willing and maybe even interested in helping the younger boys once in awhile.  Kinda seems to me that it could be encouraged on an occasional basis.... Keeps them 'grounded' in the troop, helps them in working with others, etc... and it gives the young boys a role model and so on.

This being one reason why it makes more sense to me, to do it as a patrol rather than a separate unit.

I have no problem with individuals from the Venture Patrol being Instructors and working with the younger patrols either the NSP or the middle age patrols.  It would work out that such instruction could be done without disrupting the organization/teamwork of the Venture Patrol.  I just find it counter-productive to tear apart 2-3 different older patrols for an ad hoc patrol/contingent to go off to Philmont.  Of course the 6-9 month prep time for the trek would take away from the day-to-day operation of the original patrols who would now be down in numbers and those numbers would be their leadership/older boys.  Sure, it is possible to operate this way, but I don't see it as all that practical.  If the Venture Patrol wants to head out to Philmont, no problem, they just plan, practice and go and it affects no one else in the troop.  As soon as they get back from Philmont, they can immediately start making plans for Isle Royal or a 9 day trek on the AT.  Otherwise they have to go back to their original patrols, re-acclimate themselves and then when time permits start their next HA.  If one wants to retain these boys, those lapses and disruptions don't work in favor of keeping the boys focused on things they are interested in doing.

[thdewey]

We've got a great group of 10 youth going! 

The Leader's Guide is finally out. 

 

There are plenty of other options out there. We try and have car camping trips and high adventure. We try to do everything as affordable as possible.

 

We looked at a Summit trip las year and it was going to be around $800.  We didnt even need to fly like a lot of people. Just to much. the youth decidided to go to New York. hey planned the whole thing for $400 each.  

 

I can't wait to see hundreds and hundreds of green shirts at the opening and closing ceremony!