Information about the various awards and training you can acheive through Venturing.
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Venturing Bronze Award
One of the strengths of the Venturing program is its ability to meet the interests of all Venturers. Sometimes Venturers like to investigate new, different areas. Variety in a crew always seems to make it more fun to go to meetings and outings. Also, Venturers probably have many interests or would like to have more. Because of that desire, and to provide a pathway to many different experiences, the Venturing awards program is offered.
There are five different Venturing Bronze awards: Arts and Hobbies, Outdoor, Sea Scouts, Sports, and Religious Life. All five Bronze awards contain the common elements of experience, learning a skill, and sharing experiences and skills with others. Earning at least one Venturing Bronze Award is required for the Venturing Gold Award. The Venturing Bronze Award is designed as the first tier in the advancement track for Venturers so they can acquire usable skills that will carry them along the trail to the Venturing Silver Award.
Requirements
For the awards in Arts and Hobbies, Sports, or Religious Life, a Venturer must complete at least nine of 12 requirements for each of those three areas. For the Outdoor award, Venturers must complete at least four core requirements and two electives that are found in the Ranger Award requirements. For the Sea Scout award, Venturers must complete half the requirements for Sea Scouting's Quartermaster Award (Ordinary rank).
Below are two sample requirements:
■Sports: Demonstrate by means of a presentation at a crew meeting or a Cub Scout or Boy Scout meeting that you know first aid for injuries or illnesses that could occur while playing sports.
■Religious and Community Life: Produce or be a cast member in some type of entertainment production with a religious or ethical theme (such as a play, puppet show, or concert) for a children's group, retirement home, homeless shelter, or Cub Scout or Boy Scout group.
Procedure
Venturing Bronze Award candidates may have their crew Advisor or a specialty consultant approve or sign off on a completed requirement. Requirements for the awards in Arts and Hobbies, Sports, and Religious Life, as well as the Venturing Gold Award can be found in chapter 10 of the Venturer/Ranger Handbook, No. 33494C. Requirements for the Sea Scout award can be found in the Sea Scout Manual, No. 33239C. The requirements for the Outdoor award can be found in the Venturer/Ranger Handbook. There is no committee review for Venturing Bronze awards.
Recognition
The Venturing Bronze Award is a colorful, campaign-style ribbon that may be worn on the Sea Scout or Venturing uniform. If all five are earned, all five may be worn on the uniform. The ribbons have an icon representing the area in which it was earned superimposed on the ribbon.
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Venturing Gold Award
The Venturing Gold Award was developed to recognize the significant accomplishment in a Venturer's life as he or she has proven outstanding performance in a broad spectrum of activities. Earning it will challenge and motivate Venturers over an extended period.
This award provides a favorable image of the Venturing program among youth, parents, schools, and the community. It offers challenging and stimulating opportunities for Venturers to develop and achieve personal goals in the areas of leadership, character development, and personal fitness.
Requirements
Venturing Gold Award candidates must be active and registered Venturers for at least 12 months before final qualification. They must serve in a leadership role within the 12 months before final qualification. They must participate in a district, council, or national Venturing event or activity. They must set and accomplish one personal goal in each of the six areas. They must plan and lead at least two crew activities. They must recite the Venturing Oath. Three letters of recommendation from adults outside of the crew are required, and the candidate must make an oral presentation to a crew review committee. Finally, they must be approved and recommended by their crew committee.
Procedure
To achieve the award, Venturing Gold Award candidates must submit a written petition to their crew Advisor in which they outline their plans and ambitions for their projects. Advisors are encouraged to have a conference with each candidate to ensure that the Venturer has developed a well-conceived plan, and that he or she has specific goals in mind. The Advisor approves the plan. After council approval, the council issues the award. They are required to have earned the Venturing Bronze Award.
Download an application form for the Venturing Gold award.
Recognition
After many months of determined service and leadership, the Venturing Gold Award should be presented in a setting worthy of the award. Suggested occasions include high school assemblies, church services, and council Venturing events. The award may be presented more than once. The award is a gold medal featuring the Venturing logo inside a compass dial. The medal is suspended from a white ribbon. A certificate is also available.
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Venturing Silver Award
Advancement has been an important part of the Boy Scouts of America since the issuance of the first 12 merit badges in 1911. When the BSA introduced the Exploring program (predecessor to Venturing) in 1950, the Silver Award program was also released as the advancement program for older Boy Scouts. From 1950 through 1966, 18,256 Silver Awards (such as Antelope, Beaver, etc.) were earned.
Background
The Venturing Silver Award is available to all Venturing youth members of the Boy Scouts of America. Its purpose is to provide a pathway for personal development; encourage Venturers to learn, grow, and serve; and recognize the high level of achievement of Venturers who acquire Venturing skills.
Requirements
Venturers must be proficient in emergency preparedness (including standard first aid, CPR, and Safe Swim Defense), participate in Ethics in Action, complete the Venturing Leadership Skills Course, earn the Venturing Gold Award, and earn at least one of the five Venturing Bronze awards.
Download an application form for the Venturing Silver award.
Procedure
Venturers work with their Advisors to establish a plan of action for earning the Silver Award. Venturers can choose to work on the requirements alone or with other Venturers as in a crew activity. Venturers can work on requirements in the Bronze Award program, Gold Award program, and Silver Award program simultaneously. They could also work on each program separately. It's up to the Venturer and Advisor as to how they earn the award. After completion of all requirements, the Venturing Silver Award candidate will go through a formal review with other Venturers and adults from the crew.
Recognition
The Venturing Silver Award medal features an eagle superimposed over a compass dial. It also has a red, white, and blue background behind the eagle. The medal is worn suspended from a green and white ribbon, which is suspended from a silver Venturing bar. A cloth knot is also available.
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Venturing Ranger Award
High adventure and the outdoors have always been of interest to young Americans as well as an important part of the BSA program. Because of the attraction of high adventure, the Ranger Award is available to all Venturing youth members of the Boy Scouts of America.
The purpose of the award is to encourage Venturers to achieve a high level of outdoor skills proficiency; recognize achievement of this high level of outdoor skills proficiency; provide a path for outdoor/high-adventure skills training; and establish Rangers as a highly trained leadership resource for crews, Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and the community.
The Ranger Award exemplifies a challenging high-level outdoor/high-adventure skills advancement program. Once earned, it will identify a Ranger as a person who is highly skilled at a variety of outdoor sports and interests, trained in outdoor safety, and ready to lead or assist others in activities. Rangers can be a great program asset to Cub Scout packs, Boy Scout troops, and others.
Requirements
Ranger candidates must complete eight challenging core requirements:
■First Aid ■Emergency Preparedness
■Leave No Trace ■Land Navigation
■Wilderness Survival ■Communications
■Cooking ■Conservation
And four of 18 challenging electives:
■Backpacking ■Cave Exploring
■Cycling/Mountain Biking ■Ecology
■Equestrian ■First Aid
■Fishing ■Hunting
■Lifesaver ■Mountaineering
■Outdoor Living History ■Physical Fitness
■Plants and Wildlife ■Project COPE
■Scuba ■Shooting Sports
■Watercraft ■Winter SportsNote
Venturers who have received the Outdoor Bronze Award need to complete only four more of the core requirements and two more electives to qualify for the Ranger Award.
Procedure
Ranger candidates can earn requirements. They can work on their own or with other Venturers. A crew may also work together. Candidates can work with outside consultants such as a scuba diving instructor, for instance. Advisors and consultants must sign a Ranger candidate's record sheet found in the Venturer/Ranger Handbook, No 33494C.
Recognition
After months of experiencing and acquiring skills on a wide variety of outdoor/high-adventure interests and sharing those skills with others, the Ranger will receive a sterling silver medal that features a powder horn superimposed over a compass dial. The medal is worn suspended from a green and white ribbon, which is suspended from a silver Ranger bar. A cloth Ranger bar is also available.
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The Quest Award
Click to download the Quest Award brochure.
In the years since Venturing started, the program has been defined by the activities Venturers do. Sports have become a very important activity within crew programs. The resounding popularity of the Ranger Award for the outdoor emphasis caused the need to create a similar challenging award program for Venturing's sports emphasis.
Statistics throughout the United States are showing that Americans as a nation are overweight and out of shape. Heart disease and diabetes, diseases which are the results of being overweight, are rampant. These diseases, historically found in older people, are now being found more and more in the youth. Young Americans are not being encouraged to watch their diets and start an exercise program.
While working on the Quest Award, Venturers will be required to learn more about what makes up a nutritional diet as well as design their own personal exercise plans based upon lifestyle, fitness levels, and desires for a healthy and long life. Hopefully this program will introduce Venturers to a sport or sports that they will enjoy the rest of their life. As with many other requirements throughout the Venturing program, Venturers will be required to share what they learn with others. This sharing may be done through various sports clinics and presentations with other groups. In the electives section, Venturers will be required to choose at least one sport in which to become proficient.
Purpose
■Provide a wide variety of sports-related activities that encourage the development of the "whole" person.
■Give Venturers the opportunity to pursue a specific sports interest in a new way that may not be available in a traditional Scouting, educational, or recreational setting.
■Provide Venturers a variety of practical, hands-on sports experiences while having FUN.
■Promote fitness and sportsmanship
■Learn new sports correctly that Venturers will enjoy the rest of their life.
■Recognize Venturers for achievement in the sports area.
■Develop highly trained Venturers who may become a training and leadership sports resource to dens, packs, and troops, religious organizations, the community, schools, sports teams, and families.
Requirements
Five Core Requirements: (Do all)
1.Earn the Sports Bronze Award.
2.Complete an American Red Cross Sport Safety Training Course or equivalent.
3.Complete the Fitness for Life program.
4.Learn and do fitness assessments.
5.Sports Disciplines (Choose a sport from a list provide in the Quest Handbook or another sport approved by your Advisor.)
Electives are: (Do one)
1.History and Heritage of Sports
2.Sports Nutrition
3.Drug-Free Sports
4.Communications
5.History and Heritage of the Disabled Sports Movement
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TRUST: Religious & Community Life Award
Background
In the years since Venturing started, the program has been defined by the activities Venturers do and a popular activity is service. Religious organizations charter the majority of Venturing crews. Following in the tradition of the Quartermaster, Ranger, and Quest awards, a similar, challenging award program has therefore been created for Venturing's religious life emphasis. The TRUST award is a unique opportunity for the youth of Venturing.
Trust is an essential aspect of our relationship with others - both personally and corporately. Learning to trust is the challenge. Today young people live in an increasingly pluralistic society made up of multiple nationalities, cultures, and religions. One way to work toward a safe future is to learn to get along and work together. Understand is a good start toward trust.
While working on the TRUST award, Venturers will learn more about themselves, their communities, their religion and culture, as well as those of others. As with many other requirements throughout the Venturing Program, Venturers will be required to share what they learn with others.
Purpose
■Help Venturers learn about their own religion and how it affects their lives.
■Give Venturers the opportunity to pursue understanding and knowledge of cultures other than their own.
■Promote understanding and tolerance.
■Learn how to resolve conflicts both internally and externally, with positive outcomes.
■Understand how other world religions work and how multiple religions can work together.
■Learn about religion and culture within the context of the BSA.
■Develop highly trained Venturers who may become a training and leadership resource to dens, packs, and troops, religious organizations, the community, schools, and families.
■Provide Venturers a variety of practical, hands-on experiences while having FUN.
Requirements
Five Areas of Requirements (each has required sections and electives):
1. Tending your Faith
Learn about your own religious journey, and earn the religious emblem for your faith group.
2. Respecting the Beliefs of Others
Learn about freedom of religion in the US and learn about religions other than your own in your community.
3. Understanding other Cultures
Learn about the historical significance of cultures in the US and study one cultural group in detail.
4. Serving your Community
Complete a community service project and learn about organizations in your community that serve youth.
5. Transforming our Society
Learn counseling skills, conflict resolution, peace and reconciliation, and how to apply them in your own life.
