Troop Meeting nights

[CubScoutJo]

Our CO is starting a new troop. I'd like some opinions. Is it better to have troop meetings on the same night as a "sister" pack, or on a different night.

 

Some conflicts I see in having Troop meetings on the same night are that the facility is already overcrowded on "scout night" and that Boy Scouts would not be able to serve as Den Chiefs without missing their own Troop meetings.

 

The main "pro" that has been mentioned is that it will be easier for parents who have sons in both programs to have them on the same night. However, to me even that "pro" has a corresponding "con" in that parents (like myself) who like to be involved with both organizations wouldn't be able to due to them meeting the same night.

 

Also, does anyone have experience with their meeting night being on a Friday. With sports and dates, is it a bad idea?

 

Jo

 

[ScoutNut]

It sounds like your Pack is one of those that all meet together at the same place & time. I can't say I am a fan of that type, but it seems to work for some.

 

Our Troop meets every Thursday, from 7:30 until 9pm. Our Dens all meet on different nights, at different times, basically whenever is good for the Den Leaders. There is one Den that meets on Thursday, but it's meetings are over by 7:30 so there is no conflict. Our Pack meetings are generally on a Tuesday, but sometimes we have Friday or Saturday meetings if they are due to run later. We have never really had a sports problem with the Friday meetings for the Pack. For the Troop, it depends on the boys ages & what they are into. Sports are pretty much played all the time, so a Friday might not be any more likely to run into a problem than any other night. Dating would probably only be an issue for those 16+.

 

I would say that the con's would out weigh the pro's (personally I can't see ANY!) for having Pack & Troop meetings at the same time & place. IMO, keep them separate.

 

 

[ljnrsu]

Our Troop meetings are on Friday. Did it for two reasons. No boy sports are held on a Friday except for one HS football game. And that the boys have the weekend to do homework. The parents like Friday because homework is not an issue. The only drawback is we lose a meeting when we go camping.

[evmori]

We meet on Monday. Why? Don't really know. We just do.

 

Ed Mori

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[Cubmaster Jerry]

I can speak from both sides of the track. A Pack I was previously in was set up so all Dens met on the same night at School. There were some inconveniences as you elude to with space but it worked out fine. From a CC/CM point of view it is nice to have all of dens in one place for communication purposes. The Troop also met on this same day of the week and there were issues with Den Chiefs not being able to participate. In fact, we had difficulty taking advantage of them because of that fact. But, it is difficult for either the Troop or the Pack to switch because the parents and leaders are used to meeting then.

 

On the other side, my new Pack has Den Chiefs available because the dens all meet whenever they can as does the Troop. The Den Chiefs seem to be available as needed (although I don't think the dens take advantage of them).

 

If I were in your shoes, I would suggest the Pack and Troop meet on different nights.

[jr56]

My troop meets on Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:00. It is best to have pack and troop meetings on separate nights, so that parents who have boys in both programs can support both. Also, it frees up boy scouts to help with pack functions, a great recruitung tool.