Boy Scout merit badge

[Alan H]

Th is is all very prelminary, much research needs to be done first, BUT.....this is what might come to pass here at the CHAC.

We have a "new" lass coming out to practice. She's bringing her two sons, the younger of which is showing up pretty remarkably regularly. He's a Boy Scout. Now, it so turns out, that these days, the Boy Scouts apparently allow a lad, with consultation between his Scoutmaster and a potential advisor, to design his own merit badge. So, in addition to the usual ones....camping, community service, swimming and so on, the possibility exists for a custom-designed badge.

Mind you, I don't know much about all this, beyond what I've just written. I expect that it's likely that such a proposal would have to be approved by the local council, at the very least.

Well, he's interested in seeing if we can put together a Scottish Heavy Athletics merit badge.

I am SO down with this.

[Alan H]

Turns out that this is not quite right...I made a call to the local Council office.

HOWEVER.... in mid-July at one of the Council summer camps, on Thursday they actually already have what they call a "Highland Games". Scouts do a Haggis toss and a caber throw and tug-of-war.

We could pretty easily get 4-5 adult athletes down there to the camp for the afternoon, and bring some appropriately-sized gear. Maybe no hammers, eh? ....but a stone throw and a weight throw, as well as caber, haggis and tug of war? Totally do-able. And of course, if you take part, there's a participation badge.

I'm liking this.

[MacGumerait]

Bravo Alan ! I'm sure the Scouts would be totally amazed at seeing the real deal .

Being a former Scout and former Assistant Scoutmaster , I'm rather certain they will be most appreciative .

Just think , you may be encouraging some future Highland Games athletes . Good on ya !

Cheers , Mike

[EagleJCS]

I could see some requirements being fulfilled through participation in Scottish Heavy Athletics - maybe - for Athletics merit badge, Personal Fitness, or Sports. It's been a while since I've actually looked at the current requirements for any of those.

Look at www.meritbadge.com for the most current requirements for those badges.

If nothing else, the Scouts would certainly get a big kick out of seeing a demonstration, and maybe trying out a couple of events.

[Dale G]

Outstanding! I would like to see this happen. I have written recommendation letters for two Eagle Scout candidates in the past and support the objectives of the BSA. This has the potential of grooming future Highland Athletes and keeping the traditions alive here in the U.S. Please keep us updated and let me know if I can contribute here on the east coast. I have friends who are heavily involved with the Scouts.

[Laird_M]

Hmm, not seen anything like this in the UK, but would be interested to see the results.

[Deirachel]

The best bet is the option of getting the local council/national board to give a list of "restricted and unauthorized by Boy Scouts of America". (If I remember, it was basically "sports" involving blood like dog/cock fighting or beer pong, and race car driving.)

This was something my local council was willing to do for me when I was a Boy Scout, as I earned Sports with Fencing and Hockey. Hockey is included in the options, but fencing was, at the time, not one of those "no" sports, so my councilor was able to allow it (as she was the coach for both programs it worked nicely.)

[Alan H]

I've sort of dropped this. The young lad is a great kid, but there are limits to his enthusiasm, and the amount of work involved is discouraging.

Honestly, I have to prioritize since there are only so many hours in a day, and creating this badge is not high on my priority list.

[Dale G]

Alan:
I completely understand what you're saying. I'm often guilty of the same thing myself. That being said, if anyone is interested I had lunch with my buddy today and asked him about this. He said the "sport" merit badge is very general in nature like Deirachel said above. It is basically just participation in any organized sport; however, he said "heritage" badges are popular and he feels would likely be approved. You could include something related to Scottish history or heritage and that would be the nexus to The Games.

[Deirachel]

If it's about the Games as a sport, there is no reason to re-invent the wheel, Alan. It becomes part of the Sports merit badge (he would need a second sport to complete the badge).

If it's about the Scottish Games as a cultural thing, then that's a whole other issue, and I can't blame you.