- Q: How soon will the Venturing Advisor Guidebook and the Handbook for Venturers be available at Scout shops or online?
A: Planned release for the Venturing Advisor Guidebook, the Handbook for Venturers, and the Venturing Awards and Requirements manual is August 2014. Below is a summary of contents:
Handbook for Venturers
- Part 1: Venturing Essentials
- Part 2: What Venturers do: areas of program emphasis (adventure, leadership, service,
- and personal development)
- Part 3: Planning and leading adventure and your crew
Venturing Advisor Guidebook
- Part 1: Venturing Essentials, including Venturing pedagogy (i.e., experiential education and youth development)
- Part 2: Advising youth (i.e., how the program operates through Venturing’s methods and areas of program emphasis; how to advise and support the youth who design and lead the program)
- Part 3: Program Resources and Administration
Venturing Awards and Requirements Book
Focus on support for TRUST, Quest, Ranger awards (requirements and resource materials) as well as a compendium of additional programs of interest to Venturers.click here to close
- Q: How can we apply previous Venturing experiences to the new Summit award recognition system?
A: The new Venturing award requirements were designed to reflect what Venturers of successful crews do. If you are a member of an active, adventurous crew, you might notice that you have already completed many of the requirements for the Discovery, Pathfinder, and Summit Awards.
If a registered Venturer met the requirement, as written, he or she may apply it toward the Summit Award system. Here are the requirements that are open to past credit if these requirements were completed as a Venturer prior to June 1, 2014:
Discovery: A Venturer may receive credit for requirements 1 – 3, 5 – 6.
Pathfinder: A Venturer may receive credit for requirements 1, 3-6, and 8. The “Since earning the Discovery Award” portion of requirements 3 and 4a will be waived for Venturers who completed these requirements prior to June 1, 2014.
Summit: A Venturer may receive credit for requirements 1, 4, and 8. The “Since earning the Pathfinder Award” portion of requirement 4a will be waived for Venturers who completed these requirements prior to June 1, 2014.
All other requirements must be complete after June 1, 2014.click here to close
- Q: What are the definitions of a Tier I, II & III Adventure and where is this documented?
A: The descriptions for Tiers of Adventure are provided in the youth and advisor handbooks.
Presented below is an extract from the upcoming Handbook for Venturers:Three Tiers of Adventure
Venturing’s three levels of adventure are designed to challenge and engage crew members to experience adventure. Each level provides crew members with opportunity for leadership personal growth, and skill development. While Tier I activities are fairly basic, they provide a preparation for the greater challenges and opportunities involved in Tier II and Tier III activities. A well-balanced crew activity program will include activities and adventures in all tiers.Tier I adventure – Little preparation or planning; little or no prior skill development; less than one day duration (not overnight); not far outside comfort zone. Typically, these adventures are good crew fun or recruiting activities and easily accommodate guests. Examples include bowling night, watch-and-learn STEM night, a trip to a natural history museum, and a climbing wall activity.
Tier I adventures may be stepping stones that lead to implementing a Tier II or Tier III adventure.
Tier II adventure – Some planning or preparation is required; some prior skill development may be desirable or even required; less than four days; outside the standard range of activities. Examples include organizing and running a Special Olympics event, staging a music and dance event for a nursing home, a weekend canoe trip or camping trip, and a three-day crew road rally.
Tier II adventures can serve as shakedown events that lead to Tier III adventure.
Tier III adventure – Extensive planning, preparation, and skill development required prior to participation; at least four days duration; mentally and physically challenging. Tier III adventures are highlights of the program year, and may take place once or twice annually. Your crew will invest considerable time and energy in preparing and carrying out a Tier III adventure. Examples include a 50-mile backpacking trip, planning and directing a science-themed Cub Scout day camp, trip to a weeklong arts festival, New York City museum tour, organizing a sports camp for disabled youth, participating in an international Scouting event, and organizing and participating in programming at a BSA high-adventure base.
Your Advisor should be consulted to confirm the tier of adventure being implemented. He or she will have the final word, for example, as to whether a single-day organization-intensive activity meets the expectations for a Tier II or Tier III adventure.
Tiers of Adventures
The notion of tiers of adventure is designed to challenge you and the members of your crew to take on new challenges and provide you with experiences that you would not have otherwise encountered. The use of Tier II and Tier III adventures is important because of the degree of planning and preparation required to organize and carry them out. These adventures are real tests of your growth as a leader.Differentiating Tier II from III
The fundamental difference is in the level of preparation, planning, and gathering resources to carry out the adventure. Generally, a Tier II adventure lasts from two to four days duration and a Tier III adventure lasts for four days or more. When an event of fewer than four days is considered a Tier III adventure, it should reflect these criteria:The planning needed to carry out a shorter event is comparable to that of a longer event.
The preparation needed to implement the activity is similar to the preparation needed to implement a longer event.
The opportunity to challenge the activity chair and the members of the crew is similar as to what would take place during an activity of longer duration.
click here to close
- Q: Any examples of how to do a crew induction ceremony?
A: A sample induction ceremony is available on scouting.org/venturing. Your crew is encouraged to develop a ceremony of its own. The focus of the ceremony is to ask a young adult to voluntarily commit to living by the ideals of Scouting and to freely join the World Scout Movement.
click here to close
- Q: I am reading through the new requirements and I am looking at the Adventures of Faith, Adventures of Self and Adventures of Others. Are these separate awards like the current Venturing Bronze Award or are they more similar to the personal goals of the current Venturing Gold Award?
A: The goal setting process is more similar to the goal setting requirement in the current Venturing Gold Award. The biggest difference this time is that the areas of faith, self, and others are were established as the realms of exploration. Over his or her time in the program, a Venturer carries out a reflection in each of those areas and uses what was learned through the reflection to set and achieve a goal exploring each of those areas.
More information (such as describing the reflection process and offering examples of setting and attaining goals) is present in the Venturer and Advisor materials….which should be out quite soon.
click here to close
- Q: Are there any plans to update or revise ILSC?
A: Yes, revisions to Introduction to Leadership Skills for Crews are under development.
click here to close
- Q: Any details or material for the BSA Goal Setting - Time Management training Course? Is there or will there be an online version?
A: The course is under development and will be released soon. The training course is being developed as game, which allows the course to be used throughout a Venturer’s time in the program and have different – yet instructive experiences each time the crew plays the game.
click here to close
- Q: Can this requirement - service - be defined better? What is meant by 50 percent of service may be delivered personally - the rest must be delivered through crew activity? Does this mean the member is dependent on his crew planning service activity for half of his service hour opportunities towards completing the service requirement for the Discovery and Pathfinder Awards? Can he or she join another crew's service activity, a crew that he or she is not a member of? Can a District level service activity that his crew may not be participating in count towards non-personal service activity?
A: Does this mean the member is dependent on his crew planning service activity for half of his service hour opportunities towards completing the service requirement for the Discovery and Pathfinder Awards?
That is a correct interpretation of the requirement. The intention is to develop an ethic of service to others through crew activities as well as through individual service contributions.Can he or she join another crew’s service activity, a crew that he is not a member of?
If the Venturer is not a member of that crew, it would be an example of delivering individual service.
Can a District level service activity that his crew may not be participating in count towards non-personal service activity?Since the service activity is not planned by the crew – or based on the way the question was asked, not a crew event, then it would count as individual service. If the crew elects to take part in a community service event – and organizes crew participation in that event – then it would count as crew-delivered service.
click here to close
- Q: What is the scope and definition of service hours? Does service to the crew count as service hours, or does the service have to be outside the crew, or outside of scouting and does the crew member have to have advisor approval for personal service?
A: The Handbook for Venturers offers this definition of service:
A service is a valuable action, deed, or effort carried out to meet a need of an individual, a group of people, or an organization. An act must be both valuable and address a need of the recipient to qualify as an act of service. The variety of service project ideas is boundless. And, with your capabilities as a young adult it becomes your responsibility to choose those opportunities which best fit with your personal and crew values and to to bring about significant positive change for the individual or organization that you serve. Service is a great place to stretch your leadership muscles.In counting service hours, service provided as a member of the crew and as an individual are both expected. There is no expectation of Advisor approval for service provided on an individual basis. The how and why of the service provided by the individual is a great topic for discussion during an Advisor conference.
Service to the crew – such as for Pathfinder Award Requirement 5 – is a separate service requirement for the benefit of the crew and its members and does not count toward accumulating service project hours as described in the handbook extract above.
click here to close
- Q: If a crew member organizes a crew event, does his time count as service, service to the crew?
A: If a Venturer organizes a crew service activity, it counts as service time with the crew.
Depending on the size/nature of the service project, it may also count as leading a Tier II or Tier III adventure.click here to close
- Q: In Venturing Advisor Position Specific Training, the course does not define how advisors guide Venturers in personal reflection and goal setting, so where can they find out?
A: Details on this are provided in the Handbook for Venturers and in the Guidebook for Advisors.
click here to close
- Q: The BSA Mentoring Training, is this the PowerPoint presentation found on www.scouting.org or is there a new training program? Is there an online version for youth to complete?
A: The Mentoring Training currently on scouting.org is undergoing revisions and will soon be updated. The course is designed as an in-person course and may be delivered on a crew level or at a district or council level.
click here to close
- Q: Mentoring Training is mentioned in Venturing Advisor Position Specific Training, with no details, but should there be a session for adult leaders on this as a part of Venturing Advisor Position Specific Training?
A: Venturing Advisors are encouraged to take the same training as the Venturers that they work with, so that they may understand the same content in the same way as Venturers – and be able to apply mentoring skills as they advise members of the crew.
click here to close
- Q: Is there a workbook similar to the Eagle Scout Project Workbook for the Summit Award Service Project?
A: A Summit Award workbook will be released soon to help Venturers organize and document their Summit Award Service project.
click here to close
- Q: Double dip question: Would completing an Eagle Scout Project also be credit for completing the Summit Award Service Project - assuming the scout completes his eagle project after he has also completed the Pathfinder Award? Or does a Venturer have to do a new project independent of his Eagle Scout service project to earn the Summit Award?
A: From the Handbook for Venturers:
The capstone service project designed and led by Summit Award candidates must be a different service project than one carried out for the Eagle Scout Award, the Sea Scout Quartermaster Award, or the Girl Scout Gold Award.click here to close
- Q: I understand that the Boards of Review for Discovery and Pathfinder are held at the unit level. How does a Summit Award Board of Review function?
A: For the Summit Award, the board of review will be conducted according to the BSA Guide to Advancement – content to be updated at the next revision. The board of review must consist of at least five, but no more than six members. At all times at least one half of board of review members, excluding the chair, shall be Venturers currently participating in the program.
Details of membership shall be as follows:
Chair: The adult chair of the board of review shall be a Venturing-certified* member of the district or local council advancement committee or their designated Venturing-certified* representative. Venturer Membership: The board of review shall include at least two active Venturers, at
least one of whom shall be from the candidate’s crew. Other Venturing members of the board of review should be selected from the following list.- Current holder of the Summit Award or Silver Award
- Venturer who is a member of the council, area, or region VOA or equivalent
- Venturer currently holding a Venturing elected office
- Eagle Scout, Quartermaster or Girl Scout Gold award recipient who is an active
Venturer.
In the event the chair determines no Venturer is available that meets one of these qualifications, the crew president may nominate another Venturer from the candidate’s crew to serve on the board of review.
Adult Representation: Other than the chair, the board of review shall include at least one adult, registered with the BSA, who works regularly with the Venturing program at any level.
Community Representation: It is recommended that the board of review involve at least one well-respected adult representative of the community.
The candidates Crew President and the Chair must agree upon the final membership of the board of review. If the candidate is the Crew President, the Crew’s Vice President of Administration must be in agreement with the Chair. If the Chair and the Crew President (or Vice President of Administration) cannot agree, the candidates Crew Advisor will make the final determination of board membership, including members previously considered by the Crew President and Chair.
*The definition of a Venturing Venturing-certified member includes the completion of Venturing Awards & Recognition Training.
click here to close
- Q: What is the Venturing Awards and Recognition Training?
A: Venturing Awards and Recognition Training is a unit of orientation training. While not required to be considered “trained,” Venturing Awards and Recognition Training is an excellent online orientation to how Venturing’s recognition system works, including details on the requirements and how a Venturing board of review operates. This online training is required for district or council advancement committee member chairing a Venturing Summit Board of Review.
click here to close
- Q: Will there be a revision to the Guide to Advancement that will address these questions or issues?
A: A revised version of the Guide to Advancement will be released as soon as updates are completed.
click here to close
