The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including 176,000 female participants. The BSA was founded in 1910; about 130 million Americans have participated in its programs. Served by 477,000 adult volunteers. BSA became a founding member organization of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1922.
Philmont Scout Ranch is a ranch located in Colfax County, New Mexico, United States, near the village of Cimarron; it covers 140,177 acres (56,728 ha) of wilderness in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains on the east side of the Cimarron Range of the Rocky Mountains. Donated by oil baron Waite Phillips, the ranch is owned and operated by the Boy Scouts of America. It is a National High Adventure Base where crews of Scouts and Venturers take part in backpacking treks and other outdoor activities. By land area, it is one of the largest youth camps in the world. During the 2019 season, between June 8 and August 22, an estimated 24,000 Scouts and adult leaders backpacked through the Ranch's extensive backcountry. That same year 1,302 staff were responsible for the Ranch's summer operations.
Advancement and recognition in the Boy Scouts of America is a tradition dating from the inception of the Scouting movement. A fundamental purpose of advancement is the self-confidence a young man or woman acquires from his participation in Scouting. Advancement is one of the methods used in the "Aims and Methods of Scouting"– character development, citizenship training and personal fitness.
Wood Badge is a Scouting leadership programme and the related award for adult leaders in the programmes of Scout associations throughout the world. Wood Badge courses aim to make Scouters better leaders by teaching advanced leadership skills, and by creating a bond and commitment to the Scout movement. Courses generally have a combined classroom and practical outdoors-based phase followed by a Wood Badge ticket, also known as the project phase. By "working the ticket", participants put their newly gained experience into practice to attain ticket goals aiding the Scouting movement. The first Wood Badge training was organized by Francis "Skipper" Gidney and lectured at by Robert Baden-Powell and others at Gilwell Park in September 1919. Wood Badge training has since spread across the world with international variations.
Cub Scouting is part of the Scouting program of Scouting America, formerly known as Boy Scouts of America (BSA), available to boys and girls from kindergarten through fifth grade, or 5 to 10 years of age and their families. Its membership is the largest of the five main BSA divisions. Cub Scouting is part of the worldwide Scouting movement and aims to promote character development, citizenship training, personal fitness, and leadership.
Venturing is a core program of the Boy Scouts of America for young men and women ages 14 through 20. It is one of the Boy Scouts' three programs for older youth, which also include Sea Scouts and Exploring. The purpose of Venturing is to provide a positive environment where youth members, called Venturers, can lead the adventure, take on new leadership roles, and mature into responsible adults.
Sea Scouts is a program of the Boy Scouts of America for young men and women ages 14 through 20.
Varsity Scouting was a program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). It was an alternative available to boys ages fourteen to eighteen until the end of 2017. It used the basic Boy Scouting program and added high adventure, sporting, and other elements that were more appealing to older youth to accomplish the aims of character development, citizenship training, and personal fitness. Varsity Scouts were organized into teams; separate chartered units from a Boy Scout troop.
Seabadge is the advanced leadership and management course for adult leaders of the Boy Scouts of America's Sea Scout program.
National Youth Leadership Training, often called NYLT, is the current youth leadership development training offered by the Boy Scouts of America. The program is conducted at the council level over six days for Scouts, Venturers, and Sea Scouts. The program has been open to all genders since 2010. This training is a part of the national organization's leadership training program and is designed to mirror themes found in Woodbadge, which is the BSA program for adult leadership training.
The Philmont Training Center (PTC), located at the Philmont Scout Ranch near Cimarron, New Mexico, has been the National Training Center of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) since 1950. The PTC offers week-long training conferences from June through September for council, district, and unit volunteers, BSA professionals, and youth leaders with several conferences taking place each week. The PTC also offers activities for family members including hikes throughout the week and a week-long backpacking program called a Mountain Trek for youth ages 14 to 20.
Kodiak is the second level leadership development course for Venturers in the Boy Scouts of America's Venturing program.
Scouts BSA is the flagship program and membership level of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) for boys and girls between the ages of typically 11 and 17. It provides youth training in character, citizenship, and mental personal fitness and leadership and develop the skills necessary to become successful adults.
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) was inspired by and modeled on The Boy Scouts Association, established by Robert Baden-Powell in Britain in 1908. In the early 1900s, several youth organizations were active, and many became part of the BSA.
The National Youth Leadership Training Leadership Academy is a program of the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America that trains youth staff members for council level National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT) courses. The course, formerly named the Northeast Region Youth Staff Development Course (YSDC) while located in New Jersey, has moved to its new home in Haymarket, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C. at the National Capitol Area Council Camp William B. Snyder. The course is currently offered two times each summer. The course is only available to those who staff or will staff a National Youth Leadership Training course in their home council.
Wood Badge in the United States is an advanced level leadership training available to adult Scout leaders. The first Wood Badge course was presented in England by the founder of Scouting, Baden-Powell, and he introduced the program into the United States during a visit in 1936. The first course was held at the Mortimer L. Schiff Scout Reservation, but Americans did not fully adopt Wood Badge until 1948. The National BSA Council staff provided direct leadership to the program through 1958, when the increased demand encouraged them to permit local councils to deliver the training.
The Utah National Parks Council (UNPC) is a former local council of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) that served youth in areas of Utah who live south of Salt Lake County and in some isolated areas of Nevada and Arizona. It was headquartered in Orem. As of December 31, 2013, UNPC was the largest of 272 local councils and is geographically within the Western Region of BSA. In 2011, the UNPC was recognized by the Utah Best of State Foundation as Utah's Best Humanitarian Organization. UNPC is a non-profit corporation governed by Scouting policies and a local community-based Executive Board. In April 2020, it combined with the former Great Salt Lake and Trapper Trails councils to create the new Crossroads of the West Council.
Leadership training in the Boy Scouts of America includes training on how to administer the Scouting program, outdoor skills training for adults and youth, and leadership development courses for adults and youth. Some of these courses like Youth Protection Training are mandatory. Most of the courses are offered by the local council, while a few are hosted at the national level, currently at Philmont Training Center in New Mexico. They are available to members of all of the Boy Scout programs, including Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Explorer Posts, and Venturing Crews.
The Scouter's Training Award is an adult recognition of the Boy Scouts of America. This award is available across several different program areas and can be earned more than once.
In the Boy Scouts of America, a Scout leader refers to the trained leaders of a Scout unit. Adult leaders are generally referred to as "Scouters," and the youth leaders are referred to by their position within a unit. In all Scouting units above the Cub Scout pack and units serving adolescent Scouts, leadership of the unit comprises both adult leaders (Scouters) and youth leaders (Scouts). This is a key part of the Aims and Methods of Scouting. In order to learn leadership, the youth must actually serve in leadership roles.
