April 2024

The BSA National Council has studied and prepared a comprehensive update to the Cub Scout program, and the Washington Crossing Council is excited to provide a summary these program updates with all pack leadership. These changes are being made to make the program more fun for Scouts, simple to explain, and easy to administer. The entire council team is eager to work with every pack for a smooth implementation. In fact, the commissioners from across the council will be gathering for a special training course conducted by a member of the Cub Scout national committee to enhance their ability to help packs with these changes.

This email provides a summary of the Cub Scout program updates. It's long! So, it may be best to save it and reference it when time allows. It will also be available on the council website on 4/19. Finally, this email displays best on a desktop computer or tablet. Due to the length and graphics, it may be more challenging to read on a phone.

Please understand that these details may be subject to some minor revision until the books and program materials have been released. The best source for updated information is the BSA National Council's website for Cub Scout program updates. The link is: www.scouting.org/topics/program-updates/program-updates-cub-scouts/

Introduction

There are many program updates coming to Cub Scouts for the 2024-2025 program year starting on June 1, 2024.

Based on feedback from over 23,000 Cub Scout leaders and parents, the BSA has updated the Cub Scout program to be more FUN, SIMPLE, and EASY.

The Cub Scout national committee has been working on these program updates for the past five years.

FUN for Cub Scouts, leaders, and parents!

SIMPLE to understand, explain, and support!

EASY to deliver the program as designed!

Simple Requirements for Each Rank

• The Bobcat Adventure is designed to be the first required Adventure.
• Each badge of rank is earned by completing six required and two elective Adventures; there are no other requirements (e.g., YPT-related items are now part of required adventures).
• The six required Adventures are based on the aims and methods of Scouting (Character, Leadership, Personal Fitness, and Citizenship) and the focus areas of the BSA (Outdoors, Personal Safety, Family, and Reverence).

Common Themes Allow Dens To Do Things Together

• The six required Adventures are focused on the aims and focus areas of the BSA:

• Character/Leadership
• Outdoors
• Personal Fitness

• Citizenship
• Personal Safety
• Family/Reverence

• This enables common activities for required adventures based on developmental level.
• Multi-rank dens and pack activities can be coordinated for several ranks:
• The required Adventures were designed to make it easy for den leaders who may have multi-rank dens (e.g., Dens with Cub Scouts of different ranks such as lions and tigers in one den).
• The requirements make it easier for packs to plan activities that will count towards required adventures for all ranks.
• This also allows dens to work and plan activities together.
• Example of common activities for the outdoors-themed required Adventure:

New Bobcat Adventure

• The one-time bobcat rank has been re-imagined as a bobcat adventure that Scouts will earn EACH year, not just when they first join.
• The Bobcat Adventure is designed to be the first required Adventure and focuses on Character / Leadership.
• The requirements are different for each year/rank.

• The Bobcat Adventure is now a belt loop or pin, depending on the year.
• Since bobcat is the first required Adventure, special ceremonies are still encouraged to celebrate earning the Bobcat Adventure.
• For Arrow of Light Scouts, there is a requirement to visit a Scouts BSA troop, so completing the Bobcat Adventure may take longer, but in the meantime, Arrow of Light Scouts can work on requirements for other Adventures. 
• The Bobcat rank badge in the Cub Scout diamond will be replaced by a lion rank badge.
• Comparison of Bobcat requirements for various years/ranks:

Simplified Adventure Requirements

• Currently, too many options make Adventures look more complicated than they might actually be.
• All required and elective Adventures have been reviewed, updated, and simplified.
• On average, each updated/new Adventure will have five requirements.
• The requirements have been simplified so that they are easier to understand.
• The new requirements are age appropriate, engaging, and are designed to teach a Scouting skill or reinforce a Scouting value.
• Each Adventure is designed to take approximately one meeting (about 60 minutes) to teach and complete.

Awards Re-Imagined as Adventures

• Current awards were either designed to introduce a topic that is not already an Adventure or to get Cub Scouts to do something that they normally wouldn’t do.
• Cub Scouts awards have been reimagined into elective Adventures.
• Example - new Summer Time Adventure requirements:

Common Elective Adventures for Popular Activities

Cub Scout Adventures have been expanded to include the most popular activities for all grades/ranks; including:

• Pinewood Derby/Raingutter Regatta
• Fishing
• Cycling

• Swimming
• Camping 
• Conservation

New STEM Adventures

• The Cub Scout national committee felt that STEM is important and it should be included in the core program as elective adventures.
• New elective Adventures have been created to ensure that the elements of STEM are available for all grades/ranks.
• The new STEM adventures do not replace the STEM Nova and Supernova Awards program.

Whittlin’ Chip Will Be Retired

• Improvements to the Cub Scout program include a focus on knife safety with three new elective Adventures. 
• To use a knife in Cub Scouting the Cub Scout must first complete the knife safety Adventure for their rank, even if they earned the knife safety Adventure in a previous rank. This replaces the Whittling Chip and introduces continuous certification for the use of a knife.
• For Bear Cub Scouts (3rd-grade) the adventure is called Whittling and is similar to the Bear Claws Adventure with a focus on pocketknife safety.
• For webelos (4th grade) the Adventure is named Chef’s Knife and the focus on knife safety is centered around kitchen knives.
• For Arrow of Light Scouts (5th grade) the Adventure is named Knife Safety and has requirements for pocketknife and kitchen knife safety. When arrow of light Scouts crossover into Scouts BSA they will be required to earn the Totin Chip to use a knife. The Totin Chip program in Scouts BSA also includes proper use of axes and saws.

More Elective Adventures

• With these updates comes an increase in the number of elective Adventures for each rank/year:
• Lions and Arrow of Light will have 16 elective Adventures.
• Tigers, Wolf, Bears, and Webelos will have 20 elective Adventures.
• Color coding:
• Light = Existing Adventures that have been reviewed/updated/simplified.
• Medium = New Adventures.
• Dark = Current awards re-imagined as new Adventures.

Webelos & Arrow of Light Have Been Split

• Arrow of Light will become a stand-alone badge/rank separate from Webelos: 
• Webelos is the fourth grade program in Cub Scouting and will no longer prepare Cub Scouts for Scouts BSA.
• Arrow of Light is the fifth grade program and badge of rank designed to prepare Cub Scouts for Scouts BSA.
• The updated Arrow of Light adventures were created in collaboration with the National Scouts BSA Committee.
• Cub Scouts cannot start working on Arrow of Light requirements/adventures until they have completed the fourth grade.
• The complete Arrow of Light badge/rank is designed to prepare Scouts for Scouts BSA, not just one adventure, and to have Arrow of Light Cub Scouts joining a Scouts BSA Troop by January/February.
• The updated uniform recommendations will be:
• Webelos (fourth grade) – blue Cub Scout uniform shirt and bottoms, Webelos hat, Webelos neckerchief.
• Arrow of Light (fifth grade) – tan Scouts BSA uniform shirt and green bottoms, there will not be an Arrow of Light hat or neckerchief.
• The Arrow of Light required and elective adventures will be separate and different from those of Webelos.
• The new Arrow of Light handbook will include content from the Scouts BSA handbook for the Scout badge or rank requirements, but Scouts cannot work on the requirements for the Scout badge of rank until they join a Scouts BSA Troop.
• The name of the “Webelos Colors” will changed to “Adventure Colors.”

Updated Badge of Rank Placement on the Uniform

• The order of the Cub Scout rank badges on the left shirt pocket will be changed to be based on the order in which each rank is earned.
• Current Cub Scouts will not need to update the position of their current rank badges nor replace them with the updated shapes.
• Example badge of rank placement:

Simplified Uniform Items

• There is now a single position emblem for “den leaders” rather than several (e.g., “tiger den leader", “den leader”, or “webelos den leader').
• There is now a single official Cub Scout sock and belt, rather than different versions/colors for various ranks.
• The Webelos rank emblem will be oval-shaped with a tan-colored background.

More Resources Coming Soon

• All new Cub Scout year/rank handbooks have been written. They will be available in May.
• The Scouting.org Cub Scouts web site will be updated to be organized by rank/grade which will include updated listings for the required and elective adventures. 
• Note: The Den Leader Experience will be discontinued.
• New pages will be available for each adventure that will include a snapshot of the adventure, its requirements, an activity card for each requirement, and links to additional resources. 
• Note: These web pages will be linked from the new handbooks via QR codes.
• The new activity cards will note the following for each requirements to aid in planning:
• Location
• Energy Level
• Supplies
• Preparation Time
• Online Den Leader Training will be updated; ETA is late May.
• Scoutbook and other online resources (e.g. Scouting.org, my.Scouting) will be updated to reflect all of the new program updates when the update program goes live in June.

Opportunity for Discount on Handbooks for WCC Packs

The Washington Crossing Council is offering a special, one-time deal on handbooks. This discount will be available to packs who purchase the new books for their members at Scouting Adventure Con on May 21! Packs can purchase handbooks at the Adventure Con Scout Shop booth for 25% off the retail price.

This special price is only available for bulk, (not individual) purchases made in-person at Scouting Adventure Con. Books will be on-hand to carry out.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is Bobcat being updated?

• Cub Scout leaders indicated the following issues with Bobcat that the change to a yearly required adventure fixes:
• Having one set of requirements for first through fifth grade was ineffective.
• The purpose of the Bobcat badge is to introduce Cub Scouts to the values of Scouting and how you do that should be different based on the grade you are working with.
• Den Leaders are challenged with what to do if they have Cub Scouts who already earned Bobcat and ones who have not.

What is wrong with the current adventures?

• Leaders indicated that they found Cub Scout Adventures disjointed with some adventures covering different topics.
• It was not clear why some adventures were required and why some were elective.
• Leaders indicated they want more elective adventures.

Why are Webelos and Arrow of Light being split?

• The Webelos program was found to cause a lot of confusion.
• It doesn’t follow the same pattern as the other ranks of being specific to a grade level.
• Webelos was designed to prepare Cub Scouts for Scouts BSA, but does it take that long to prepare a Cub Scout for Scouts BSA?

Why are the current awards being changed to elective adventures?

• Leaders indicated that they don’t focus on awards.
• Awards were not in the direct line-of-sight of a den leader and often did not drive behavior to explore the topics of the awards.
• On average, only 1.5% of youth earned an award.

Do Scouts need to update the badge shape and order on their existing uniforms?

• No, the badges that have already been earned can be left in their current positions on the Cub Scout uniforms.
• New Scouts should follow the updated placement for badges on the uniform.

Can current Webelos (fourth grade) use the existing 2023-2024 Arrow of Light requirements?

• No, Arrow of Light (fifth grade) will need to follow the updated Arrow of Light requirements that will take effect on June 1, 2024.
• Webelos should complete their required adventures for 2023-2024, and the work on current Webelos elective adventures only and should NOT work on any adventures based on the 2023-2024 Arrow of Light requirements.

Can the Pack continue to use old handbooks and/or patches?

• All of the handbooks will be completely new for the updated program. So, old handbooks will not be useful.
• Rank emblems can be used until existing stock has been exhausted, if desired.
• Retired Adventures will no longer be valid for advancement.
• Award patches can be used until existing stock has been exhasted, if desired, but the updated associated adventure requirements must be followed for the award.

Where To Go For Help

The Washington Crossing Council is excited for these program updates and ready to help all packs succeed! For questions, please reach out to your district commissioner or district executive. They can help connect pack leaders to trained Scouters who can help.

This special edition of the Trail Guide was sent to all Cubmasters, pack committee chairs, den leaders, and members of the council's commissioner staff. Please share it with other Scouters.