Frequently Asked Questions
-
Give us some idea as to who can join scouting.
-
All youth (male or female), ages 5-7 BEAVERS, 8-10 CUBS,
11-14 SCOUTS, 15-17 VENTURERS, and adults 18-26 ROVERS, and 18+
SECTION LEADERS, are welcome to join the Scouting Movement.
Top
-
What is Scouts Canada's Mission Statement, the principles of
Scouting and what Methods and Practices does Scouting use?
-
All of these questions are best answered on the
Scouts Canada website.
Top
-
Some of us know nothing about Scouting. Tell us some of the background.
-
Scouting all started with Lord Robert Baden-Powell, a British Army
Officer who served in South Africa during the Boer War. During the
war he had discovered that boys could be relied upon for things like
delivering messages, and "scouting" around making detailed
observations to see what the enemy was up to. A training manual he
had used with his soldiers he later adapted for use with boys. After
this "Scouting for Boys" was published, and the first
camp was held in 1907, the Scouting movement soon began to spread across the world,
taking on a life of its own without much direct effort from the
Founder.
One site about Baden-Powell that should not be overlooked is
http://pinetreeweb.com/B-P.htm.
Scouting is as much about character and personal development as it
is about learning scoutcraft and outdoor skills. Since November
1998 it has been completely co-educational, offering the same
opportunities to female and male members, at all levels from Beavers
(5 to 7 years of age) to Rovers (18 to 26). The necessary privacy
and sensitivity required to accommodate both genders has not proved
difficult to achieve; public schools have been at it for years.
For information about Scouting in Elmira, visit the
About Elmira Scouting page on
this website.
Top
-
Give us an idea about what our children/youth will be doing.
-
Scout sections hold a weekly meeting, lasting from one to two hours
depending on the age group, as well as outdoor activities whenever
possible. These can include field trips, tours, camping, and hiking.
Even Beavers can expect to have at least one adventuresome outing
during the year.
Top
-
What regular events and activities for youth make up the Scouting 'year'?
-
Although the Scouting 'year' runs September to August, sections only have regular meetings from
September to May, excluding Christmas break and March break. Some sections may attend a summer
camp such as a Jamboree during the summer months. Visit the section pages on this web site for
more information.
Top
-
What are the direct costs in time, and monetary expense?
-
Direct costs include annual registration (which provides insurance
coverage), uniform, occasional fees for special activities to cover
expenses, and some personal camping equipment like a sleeping bag
and a backpack.
Regular meetings are held weekly (1hr for Beavers, 1.5hrs Cubs, ...)
and there are occasional weekend events such as camps and community
service events.
Top
-
What are the fees?
-
Registration fees are subject to annual increases. For the
up-to-date information, contact the Registrar or any leader (see our
Contact Us page).
Top
-
What is the cost for a youth uniform?
-
The uniform for Beavers consists of the vest and hat. For Cubs and Scouts,
the minimum includes a shirt and a sash. Other sections allow the youth, as a group, to
choose their uniform requirements. Please consult the
Scout Shop Catalogue.
1st Elmira provides one neckerchief, one woggle and one epaulette (Cubs and Scouts) without
charge to each member. Replacements are provided at cost.
For information on where badges go, see the 1st Elmira
Beaver Uniform,
Cub Uniform or
Scout Uniform.
Top
-
What do you do at a meeting?
-
A regular meeting in the regular meeting room will usually include
a beginning routine or ceremony, and a variety of activities that
include learning new skills, crafts, and games.
Top
-
Is there a health form to fill out? Once only, or for every event?
-
Parents are required to ensure that the leader has an up-to-date
physical fitness information which is part of the registration form.
This usually means filling one out each September,
and then updating it whenever needed.
Top
-
Are forms available on-line?
-
Some forms are available on-line, as you can see by visiting the
link
on the Scouts Canada website. On-line registration is
not available.
Top
-
What forms must leaders fill out for activities?
-
Forms are not required for tours and community events within Elmira. Otherwise:
For definition of catagories and to review activity guidelines, please refer to
Scouts Canada
B.P.&P. Camping and Outdoor Acivities.
Top
-
What leader-youth ratios are observed?
-
For meetings, the ratio is 1:5 for Beavers, and 1:6 for sections
above Beavers. Minimum 2 leaders, one with first aid training.
Top
-
What kind of screening and training is available for leaders?
-
Before an adult can register to be a leader (a program leader or a
Group Committee member) the individual must obtain a Police Record
Check (PRC), be interviewed by a pair of interviewers, and then begin to serve a
three-month probation. The Scouts Canada website contains
details
of this process.
Following the initial interview, the new Scouter can take training,
beginning with the Woodbadge Part I (See North
Waterloo Area Training page).
Here are a number of websites for training courses offered in Southern Ontario.
Top
-
What kinds of controls are there in place to ensure that all
activities will be completely safe for the youth, some of whom
are merely children?
-
The next time you read in the paper about someone who got lost in
the woods, or went out boating in bad weather and had a near
tragedy, you are witnessing what happens when people don’t
know how to evaluate the risks, and probably didn’t have
proper training to begin with. What we in Scouting do is to separate
the risk and danger inherent in an activity from the excitement and
enjoyment it is supposed to provide. We achieve this, first of all,
by doing an adequate amount of training before the activity, and
then provide supervision during the activity, so that eventually
what we end up with are experienced youth and young adults, who know
what the dangers are and won't take unnecessary risks.
Finally, we have a set of
guidelines
that specifies what kind of supervision is needed for the many
acceptable and popular Scouting activities. The booklet also
contains a list of risky activities that are not appropriate for
Scouting. Our procedures are ultimately dictated by the realities
of the insurance industry and by legal ramifications in our
increasingly litigious society.
Top
-
But they still won't be completely safe. There are still risks!
-
Now that we are living in the twenty-first century, the dangers the
world poses for us have not disappeared; they have merely moved
from where the early settler, the Prairie farmer and the deep-sea
fisherman encountered them to where we now find them - in our
cities, on our highways, and on our commercial airlines. That’s
why we continue to street-proof our children, and lock our cars and
our houses at night. The only thing that will ultimately defeat us
is an unrealistic belief that we can ever be totally free from
danger and risk. We won’t be free of danger any more than we
can ensure our continued good health simply by having eradicated
many of the bad diseases of the world.
What Scouting attempts to do is to ensure a link from our
children/youth to the outdoors, and to society, while providing
challenging supervised activities that teach skills, mold character,
and produce citizens.
Top
Copyrights and Trademarks