Summit Award

Last updated

Venturing Summit Rank
Summitbsa.jpg
Cloth Patch & Medal
Owner Boy Scouts of America
CountryUnited States
FoundedJune 1, 2014
WikiProject Scouting fleur-de-lis dark.svg  Scouting portal

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]

Contents

Rank

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]

History

The Summit Award replaced the Silver Award on June 1, 2014, with the Silver Award discontinued as of December 31, 2014. The first recipient of the award was Jeremy Felty, on February 16, 2015. He was given the award at his Court of Honor 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.

Requirements

Adventure

  1. Participate in at least three additional (for a total of seven) Tier II or Tier III adventures at the crew, district, council, area, regional, or national level. To earn the Summit Award, a Venturer must have participated in at least one Tier III adventure and served as a leader during one adventure.

Leadership

  1. Complete BSA Mentoring Training prior to initiating mentoring relationships.
  2. Since earning the Pathfinder Award, mentor another Venturer in the planning and implementation of a crew, council, area, regional, or national Venturing activity (see Summit Adventure requirement 1). Work with the youth enough to ensure he or she is ready to lead and has organized the appropriate resources, is prepared for contingencies, and has developed an itinerary, conducted training to support the adventure, and mitigated risk before and during the adventure. Participate in the adventure and provide feedback on how the adventure was conducted.
  3. Complete two of the following.
    1. Since earning the Pathfinder Award, serve actively as your crew president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, guide, historian, den chief, or quartermaster for a period of at least six months. At the beginning of your term, work with your crew president (or Advisor, if you are the president) to set performance goals for the position. Any number of different positions may be held as long as the total length of service equals at least six months. Holding simultaneous positions does not shorten the required number of months. Positions need not flow from one to the other; there may be gaps in time. Once during your term of office, discuss your successes and challenges with your crew president (or Advisor, if you are the president). [lower-alpha 1]
    2. Participate in or serve on staff for leadership training such as National Youth Leadership Training, Kodiak Challenge, National Advanced Youth Leadership Experience, Order of the Arrow National Leadership Seminar, Sea Scout SEAL Training, or Wood Badge (for Venturers 18 or older). You may also participate in non-BSA leadership training courses such as those delivered by the National Outdoor Leadership School, if approved by your Advisor. This must be a different training course than you completed for Pathfinder Award requirement 4b or Summit Award requirement 4c.
    3. Lead the delivery of Introduction to Leadership Skills for Crews for members of your Venturing crew or another local Venturing crew or for a local district or council training event. After leading the training course, discuss with your crew Advisor how you believe you helped build the skill set of your crew and what you learned by organizing the training course.

Service

  1. Since earning the Pathfinder Award, plan, develop, and give leadership to others in a service project helpful to a religious institution, school, or community. (The project must benefit an organization other than the Boy Scouts of America.) Before you start, a project proposal must be approved by the organization benefiting from the effort, your Advisor, the unit committee, and the council or district advancement committee (per local practices).

Personal growth

  1. Since earning the Pathfinder Award, complete a structured personal reflection. Use this reflection to prepare for goal setting and as part of your Advisor conference. Explore two of the following realms: "Adventures of Faith," [lower-alpha 2] "Adventures of Self," or "Adventures of Others." You may explore one of the realms twice or select from between two different realms.
  2. Create a personal code of conduct. This code of conduct should be guided by your explorations in the realms of faith, self, and others.
  3. Since earning the Pathfinder Award, lead an ethical controversy and conflict resolution scenario with members of your Venturing crew.
  4. Participate in an Advisor conference. As a part of this conference, share your code of conduct with your Advisor, and explain how your explorations of faith, self, and others, and your goal-setting exercises, influenced the development of your code.
  5. After your Advisor conference, successfully complete a crew board of review. Once that is completed, the crew advisor must submit the Summit Rank application to the local council by email. [6]
  1. Venturers may substitute district, council, area, regional, or national Venturing officer or cabinet positions for the positions listed in this requirement.
  2. A Venturer is not required to share the personal reflection associated with "Adventures of Faith" with his or her Advisor or members of a board of review, including the discussion that takes place at the Advisor conference or the board of review.

Silver Award

Silver Award
Silver Award (Boy Scouts of America).png
Medal and knot
Owner Boy Scouts of America
CountryUnited States
Created1998
DefunctDecember 31, 2014
WikiProject Scouting fleur-de-lis dark.svg  Scouting portal

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]

Award

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.

Origins

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]

Purpose

The purpose of the Silver Award was to: [13]

Highest awards in other programs

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.

See also

Related Research Articles

Boy Scouts of America Scouting organization in the United States

The Boy Scouts of America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 2.3 million youth participants and about one million adult volunteers. The BSA was founded in 1910, and since then, about 110 million Americans participated in BSA programs at some time in their lives. BSA is part of the international Scout Movement and became a founding member organization of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1922.

Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America) Boy Scoutings highest award

Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Scout rank has been earned by over 2.5 million youth.

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 of Scouting"– character development, citizenship training and personal fitness.

Cub Scouting (Boy Scouts of America) Coed program of the Boy Scouts of America for kids in grades K-5

Cub Scouting is part of the Scouting program of the 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.

Religious emblems programs (Boy Scouts of America)

A variety of religious emblems programs are used by the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) to encourage youth to learn about their faith and to recognize adults who provide significant service to youth in a religious environment. These religious programs are created, administered and awarded by the various religious groups, not the BSA, but each program must be recognized by the BSA.

Venturing

Venturing is one of the core programs of the Boy Scouts of America, serving young men and women. Members must be at least 14 years old, or 13 years old and have completed eighth grade, through age 21.

Sea Scouts (Boy Scouts of America)

Sea Scouts is a program of the Boy Scouts of America for young men and women ages 14 through 20. Along with Cub Scouting, Scouts BSA, and Venturing, Sea Scouts provides a program for religious, fraternal, educational, and other community organizations to use for character, citizenship, and mental and personal fitness training for youth. As part of this training, Sea Scouts are expected to develop personal religious values, learn the principles of American heritage and government, and acquire skills that will prepare them to become successful adults.

Varsity Scouting Former Boy Scouts of America program

Varsity Scouting was part of the Boy Scouting program of the 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 are organized into teams, which are separate chartered units from a Boy Scout troop.

The uniform and insignia of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) gives a Scout visibility and creates a level of identity within both the unit and the community. The uniform is used to promote equality while showing individual achievement. While all uniforms are similar in basic design, they do vary in color and detail to identify the different membership divisions of Cub Scouting, Scouts BSA and Venturing. Many people collect BSA insignia such as camporee and jamboree emblems, council shoulder strips and historical badges.

Powder Horn (Boy Scouts of America)

Powder Horn is a skills resource course for Venturing and Boy Scouting leaders and youth of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Powder Horn is also described as a "hands-on resource management course" designed to give Scouting leaders "the contacts and tools necessary to conduct an awesome high-adventure program" in their Scouting unit. The goals of Powder Horn are to help Scout leaders safely conduct outdoor activities of a fun and challenging nature, provide an introduction to the resources necessary to successfully lead youth through a program of high adventure, and familiarize participants with the skills involved in different high adventure disciplines. The Powder Horn course will also introduce Venturing leaders to the Ranger youth award program, so adults may better help Venturers in meeting the Ranger award requirements. Powder Horn presents a wide variety of hands-on high adventure skills experiences, and thus is not designed to provide specific skills certifications. The course is meant to be held over a one-week period or two three-day weekends. Youth attendees will get first-hand experience and information as well as resources so they can better act as Event Chairs for their units.

Scouts BSA Main coed program of the Boy Scouts of America for ages 11 to 17

Scouts BSA is the flagship membership level of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) for boys and girls between the ages of 11 and 17. It provides youth training in character, citizenship, and mental and personal fitness. Scouts are expected to develop personal religious values, learn the principles of American heritage and government, and acquire skills to become successful adults.

History of the Boy Scouts of America

The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) was inspired by and modeled on the Boy Scout Association, established by Baden-Powell in Britain in 1908. In the early 1900s, several youth organizations were active, and many became part of the BSA.

The Ranger Award is an award available to youth in the Venturing program of the Boy Scouts of America, to encourage and recognize proficiency in skills.

Ranks in the Boy Scouts of America

The advancement program for Scouts participating in the Scouts BSA is symbolized by the earning of seven ranks. The advancement program is often considered to be divided into two phases. The first phase from joining to First Class is designed to teach the scout Scoutcraft skills, how to participate in a group and to learn self-reliance. The Scout badge is awarded when the Scout demonstrates a rudimentary knowledge of the Scouting ideals and program. Tenderfoot, Second Class, and First Class have progressively harder requirements in the areas of Scoutcraft, physical fitness, citizenship, personal growth and Scout Spirit.

Square knot insignia

Square knot insignia are embroidered cloth patches that represent awards of the Scout associations throughout the world.

William T. Hornaday Awards

The William T. Hornaday Awards were a series of awards presented by the Boy Scouts of America for service in conservation and ecology. The program is designed to encourage learning about natural resource conservation and the environment, teach sound stewardship of the natural resources and the environment, and recognize those who are outstanding in this field.

The advancement program for the Scout Association of Japan is symbolized by the earning of several rank badges.

Quartermaster Award (Boy Scouts of America)

The Quartermaster Award is the highest rank attainable in the Sea Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America.

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.

The Scouter's Key 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.

References

  1. Venturing Awards and Requirements Handbook. Boy Scouts of America. 2014. 618767.
  2. "Program Updates - 2014 and Beyond". Boy Scouts of America. 2014.
  3. "Venturing Awards". Boy Scouts of America. 2014.
  4. Wendell, Bryan. "In the loop: A guide to square knots, and how to wear them". Bryan on Scouting. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  5. "Advancement News" (PDF). Boy Scouts of America. Retrieved December 25, 2016.
  6. Walton, Mike. "Advancement "knot emblems" of the BSA". Scout Insignia. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  7. Venturing Silver Award "Venturing Silver Award" Check |url= value (help). Boy Scouts of America. Retrieved May 28, 2007.
  8. Wendell, Bryan (February 12, 2014). "New Venturing award names announced". Bryan on Scouting. Scouting.
  9. "Highest Rank Awards of the Boy Scouts of America". Archived from the original on September 27, 2007.
  10. "Ranger and Silver Awards Past and Present" . Retrieved August 14, 2007.
  11. "A History of Senior Scouting Programs in the BSA" . Retrieved August 14, 2007.
  12. "Silver Award Overview". U.S. Scouting Service Project. Archived from the original on February 27, 2010. Retrieved June 24, 2009.
  13. Boy Scouts of America: Venturing Handbook, page 52. 2006.
  14. "Silver Outranks Gold" . Retrieved November 11, 2011.
  15. "Ask the Expert: Why does silver outrank gold in Scouting awards?" . Retrieved November 11, 2011.