| Venturing Summit Rank | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Cloth Patch & Medal | |||
| Owner | Boy Scouts of America | ||
| Country | United States | ||
| Founded | June 1, 2014 | ||
The Venturing Summit is the highest rank for youth in the Venturing program of the Boy Scouts of America. It requires Venturers to earn the Pathfinder Rank, participate in adventures, and demonstrate leadership, service and personal growth. [1] [2] [3]
This rank consists of three elements: a badge, a medal and a knot insignia.
The badge is a rotated square cloth patch, with the Venturing Summit rank emblem and the words LEAD THE ADVENTURE above. The badge is worn on the left pocket by youth have earned the rank
The medal is an antique silver colored roundel with the words LEAD THE ADVENTURE in the border. The inner border is inscribed with a compass rose. Superimposed on the roundel is a silver eagle in flight with the Venturing emblem below. The medal is suspended from a white ribbon with green stripes; the ribbon is suspended from an antique silver colored bar bearing the word SUMMIT. The design incorporates elements from the Exploring Silver Medal (Type II) issued between 1954 and 1965. The medal is worn on formal occasions, such as a Court of Honor.
The square knot insignia is a rectangular cloth patch with a silver knot and border on a green and white background. This is the same knot previously used for the Silver Award. The knot is to be worn above the left pocket by adults who achieved the Summit award while they were a youth. No youth can wear this knot on any uniform, instead they wear the rank patch and/or the medal. [4]
The Summit Award replaced the Silver Award on June 1, 2014, with the Silver Award discontinued as of December 31, 2014. The first presentation of the Summit Award was on February 16, 2015, by former BSA National President, Wayne Perry. [5]
In August 2020 the Venturing Summit Award was formally recognized as a Rank that Venturers can earn through a series of requirements.
Adventure
Leadership
Service
Personal growth
| Silver Award | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Medal and knot | |||
| Owner | Boy Scouts of America | ||
| Country | United States | ||
| Created | 1998 | ||
| Defunct | December 31, 2014 | ||
The Silver Award was the highest award in the Venturing program of the Boy Scouts of America from 1998 through 2014. It required Venturers to first earn one of five Bronze Awards, earn the Gold Award, have one year's tenure in a crew, and fulfill requirements relating to emergency preparedness, leadership skills, and ethics-in-action. [7] The Silver Award was replaced by the Summit Award starting in 2014 and was discontinued on January 1, 2015. [8]
The award consisted of a medal suspended from a white ribbon with green stripes; the ribbon is suspended from an antique silver colored bar bearing the word VENTURING. The medal is an antique silver colored roundel with red, white and blue enameled stripes, the universal Boy Scout logo at the top with a superimposed eagle in flight, and the words VENTURING SILVER in the border.
Recipients may wear the corresponding square knot insignia, with a silver knot and border on a green and white background on the BSA uniform.
The original Silver Award was first issued from 1949 to 1954 as part of the BSA's Explorer program. [9] The award was restyled in 1954 and awarded through 1958 when Explorer was renamed to Exploring and advancement was dropped. Air Explorers continued to be able to earn this award through 1964. [10] A total of 18,047 Explorers earned the Silver Award between 1949 and 1958. [11]
The award was re-introduced in 1998 as part of Venturing and its current design is similar to its historic counterpart. [12]
The purpose of the Silver Award was to: [13]
The highest awards in other BSA membership divisions are the Cub Scouting Arrow of Light, the Scouts BSA Eagle Scout, the Sea Scouting Quartermaster Award, and the Varsity Scouting Denali Award. Using the United States Military as the model, silver awards are higher than gold awards in the BSA. [14] [15] Other Scouting movements have similar programs and awards.
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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.
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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.
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