Cub Scouting

The Purposes of Cub Scouting:
Cub Scouting is a year-round family program designed for boys who are in the first through fifth grades (or seven through 10 years of age). Parents, leaders and organizations work together to achieve the purposes of Cub Scouting. Currently, Cub Scouting is the largest of the Boy Scouts of America’s three membership divisions. (The others are Boy Scouting and Venturing.)

The 10 purposes of Cub Scouting are:

Membership:
Cub Scouting members join a Cub Scout pack and are assigned to a den, usually a neighborhood group of six to eight boys. Dens of Tiger Cubs (first graders), Wolf Cubs (second graders), Bear Cubs (third graders) and Webelos Scouts (fourth and fifth graders) meet weekly.

Once a month, all of the dens and family members gather for a pack meeting under the direction of a Cubmaster and pack committee. The committee includes parents of boys in the pack and members of the chartered organization. The Blue Ridge Mountains Council currently has over 200 Cub Scout packs active in the council area.

Volunteer Leadership:
Thousands of volunteer leaders, both men and women, are involved in the Cub Scout program. They serve in a variety of positions, as everything from unit leaders to pack committee chairmen.

Like other phases of the Scouting program, a Cub Scout pack belongs to a chartered organization. This organization, which might be a church, school, community organization or group of interested citizens, is chartered by the local BSA council to use the Scouting program. This chartered organization provides a suitable meeting place, adult leadership, supervision and opportunities for a healthy Scouting life for the boys under its care. Each organization appoints one of its members as a chartered organization representative. The organization, through the pack committee, is responsible for providing leadership, the meeting place and support materials for pack activities.

Advancement Plan:
Recognition is important to young boys. The Cub Scouting advancement plan provides fun for the boys, gives them a sense of personal achievement as they earn badges and strengthens family understanding as adult family members work with boys on advancement projects.

	Bobcat:  The Bobcat rank is for all boys who join Cub Scouting.
	Tiger Cub:  The Tiger Cub program is for first grade (or age 7) boys and their adult partners. There are five Tiger Cub achievement areas. The Tiger Cub, working with his adult partner, completes 15 requirements within these areas to earn the Tiger Cub badge. These requirements consist of a series of indoor and outdoor activities perfect for a boy in the first grade.
	Wolf:  The Wolf program is for boys who have completed first grade (or are age 8). To earn the Wolf badge, a boy must pass 12 achievements involving simple physical and mental skills.
	Bear:  The Bear rank is for boys who have completed second grade (or are age 9). There are 24 Bear achievements in four categories. The Cub Scout must complete 12 of these to earn the Bear badge. These requirements are somewhat more difficult and challenging than those for Wolf rank.
	Webelos:  This program is for boys who have completed third grade (or are age 10). A boy may begin working on this badge when he joins a Webelos den. This is the first step in his transition to the Boy Scout troop. As he completes the requirements found in the Webelos Handbook, he will work on activity badges, attend meetings and become familiar with Boy Scout requirements—all leading to the Arrow of Light Award.

Activities:
Cub Scouting means “doing.” Everything in Cub Scouting is designed to have the boys doing things. Activities are used to achieve the aims of Scouting—citizenship training, character development and personal fitness.

Many of the activities happen right in the den and pack. The most important are the weekly den meetings and the monthly pack meetings. There are many age-appropriate camping programs available as well.

Cub Scouting's 12 Core Values:
Cub Scouting has 12 core values that help boys to build character, physical fitness, practical skills and service. Character is “values in action.”

The 12 core values of Cub Scouting are: