In August, 16 Scouts and Leaders enrolled in the annual Camp William B. Snyder Open Water Diver scuba certification course. They spent two days at Camp Snyder learning safety information in the classroom and basic scuba skills in the pool. The following weekend they completed their certification at a local quarry where they demonstrated the skills they learned in the pool. Many of these Scouts are headed to the Florida Sea Base this summer for a Scuba Adventure program. Online registration for the NCAC 2019 August scuba course is available at ncacbsa.org/aquatics. Leaders can find out how to incorporate scuba into their annual program at the University of Scouting on February 23.
Archives for January 2019
Whitewater Rafting BSA Award
The Whitewater Rafting BSA Award was launched last summer to assist the many Scouting units that participate in rafting trips conducted by outfitters. The Whitewater Rafting BSA Award recognizes the challenge and adventure of such activities.
The award is available to BSA youth and adults who are members of Scouts BSA, Venturing, or Sea Scout units.
Requirements for the award focus on safety and basic paddling skills on whitewater up to Class III. All instruction and skill completions are directly supervised by a professionally trained or licensed rafting guide. A qualified raft captain must be in each raft during the required trip. Participants must help power and control the raft with paddles.
A new resource brochure is now available on the aquatics page of scouting.org at https://www.scouting.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/WW-Rafting-brochure-6-28-18.pdf to support units and outfitters in completing the Award. Check it out while you are planning your next whitewater rafting trip.
Lifeguard Training
Would you like a job as a lifeguard at your local pool or Scout camp this summer? If so, you will need lifeguard certification. This year NCAC will offer both BSA Lifeguard and American Red Cross pool and waterfront lifeguard training at Camp Snyder. Minimum age is 15. The mandatory pre-course swim test will be on April 28. Once you pass the swim test you will have 2 weeks to complete the online portion of the Red Cross Lifeguard course. The in-pool course dates are May 18, 19, and 25. Attendance at all sessions is required to pass the course. More information and registration can be found at ncacbsa.org/aquatics.
Happy New Year! Scoutbook Is Now Free for Scouts and Scout Units
Authored by Bryan Wendell, this post originally appeared on Bryan on Scouting: A blog for the BSA’s Adult Leaders, January 1, 2019.
Fellow Scouters, 2019 is off to a great start.
Scoutbook, the Boy Scouts of America’s online tool for managing and tracking Scouting advancement, is now completely, totally, 100 percent free. The change became official today — Jan. 1, 2019.
Longtime users know how Scoutbook makes it easy (and fun!) for Scouts, parents and leaders to track advancement and milestone achievements along the Scouting trail.
Before 2019, individuals, units or councils paid a small annual fee — up to $1 per Scout per year — to access Scoutbook’s suite of unit-management features.
In 2019 and beyond, those same great features are available for the best possible price: $0.
Now everyone can learn what more than 1 million users already know: Scoutbook can improve your Scouting experience.
Here’s what else you need to know:
How will my unit be affected?
- Units with a current Scoutbook account will continue to use Scoutbook as before.
- Councils that provide Scoutbook accounts for their units will no longer need to manage a subscription process for units starting a new account.
- Units without a current Scoutbook account will be able to access Scoutbook free on Scoutbook.com and elsewhere.
How will subscriptions/renewals work in 2019 and beyond?
The need to subscribe or renew annually will become unnecessary.
Once your unit is on Scoutbook, you’ll be set for as long as your unit would like to continue using this free tool.
How will making Scoutbook free affect its performance?
Scoutbook will only continue to improve.
The BSA IT and Member Care teams will continue to support Scoutbook with their timely service and quality resources. Scoutbook performance enhancements have been implemented regularly over the years, and its performance is continually monitored. That will continue.
What’s new in this release of Scoutbook?
Scoutbook has a new Single Sign On (SSO) process that will allow users to easily create accounts with the same properties as my.scouting accounts.
You’ll use the same account credentials (username and password) for both platforms. This makes things much easier for users by streamlining the login process.
For details, consult this list of Frequently Asked Questions [PDF], which includes a step-by-step guide for use of SSO.
Where can I get more information about this change in Scoutbook?
Keep an eye on Scoutbook.com for all the latest updates.
If you still have questions, you can always contact the friendly and helpful folks at Scoutbook support. Their email: Scoutbook.support@scouting.org