Summer Camp Instructions

Important Notes:

· There are 3 scheduled payments for camp due in Feb, Apr and May. Any payment made after May incurs a $20 per head penalty

· Scheduling for merit badges must be made on-line and as early as possible. Many of the popular merit badges fill up quickly.

· A scout schedule should be considered for the distance he will have to walk between locations.

· Pre-Swim Certification should be set up during the first or second troop meeting in June.

· Older scouts may want to participate in the Powderhorn activities which are more high adventure in nature and offer no merit badge opportunity.

Schedule:

Summer camp planning usually begins in February. During either the January or February roundtable the first information for camp should be passed out. The first milestone is a $50 per head payment. At his time a rough estimate can be made of the number of scouts attending. It is not important to get the number exact until the May payment. The same can be said of the April payment. The balance due will be in May and if the number of scouts are higher or lower than originally planned it can be trued up at this time. Any scout, who commits in May and a payment is made, can get a refund of his money minus $50 up to sometime in June. After that the scout will loose all the money unless another scout decides to take his place. Any scout deciding to go after the May payment must pay the extra $20 late charge.

The camp will send out an information packet in February-March which should have the details for everything camp concerned. The info packet will contain Adult information, sample forms permission forms and merit badge time schedules. The scouts will have a form for picking their merit badges. The form will have all the merit badges grouped by time slot. Be careful the scouts do not sign up for time slots where they have to go from one end of camp to another. For instance, Archery or rifle/shotgun should only be taken in the morning or after lunch or after a half hour open slot. These two activities are very far apart. They should never be scheduled back to back. The other important time consideration is the Astronomy MB, First year camper and Wilderness Survival MB. These MB's require either a late night or over night session. To couple these with an early session like nature, bird watching or Archery/Rifle will burn the scout out. No exceptions should be made. Scheduling MB's should occur during a troop meeting so scout can sync up their schedules.

The following are recommendations for campers schedules to make camp fun and not to overwhelming for a scout. The easier Merit Badges tend to be handicrafts were the harder ones at camp usually involve a lot of “homework” and writing. Shooting sports should not be considered for scouts under the age of 13. Always take water activity MB’s in the afternoon. Our summer camps tend to be the hottest week of the summer and the afternoons are repressive.

First Year Campers:

1. Swimming and First Aid is highly suggested. However, the scout must be certified a “swimmer” by the swim certification to take Swimming. If the scout is not a certified Swimmer then he should take “Learn to Swim” which will give him a chance to be in the water at least once a day.

2. Keep in mind that shooting sports require a lot of upper body strength to complete.

3. Camp offers several levels of Trailblazer programs. These programs are designed to the rank a scout wishes to focus. Make sure you sign up for the class version which is appropriate for your rank.

4. Campers should sign up for one of the following handicrafts: Art, Woodcarving (Totem Chit Reqd), Metalwork or leatherwork, Basketry or pottery

5. First year campers should always sign up for Fingerprinting

6. Make sure the scout takes at least one “fun” Merit badge. These should be one of the following: Small Boat Sailing, Canoe, Rowing, Climbing, Fishing. Schedule any water activities for the afternoon

2^nd Year and Above Campers

1. Make sure the scout takes at least one “fun” Merit badge. These should be one of the following: Small Boat Sailing, Canoe, Rowing, Climbing, Rifle, Shotgun, Archery motor boating or Fishing. Schedule any water activities for the afternoon and all others in the morning

2. Take at least one Eagle required Merit Badge from the following: Camping, Lifesaving, Emergency Prep, Environmental Science

3. Consider taking scout skills merit badges like: Cooking, Orienteering, Pioneering, Wilderness Survival

4. If you have afternoon time available, take a handicraft MB.

5. Take any sports related MB’s in the mornings

Once the scouts confirm their schedules the information should be given to the committee advancement chair. The scouts should immediately start working on Merit Badge requirements as the pre-work will enable them to get a complete merit badge at the end of camp. The advancement chair should follow up with the scout to remind them of the pre-reqs and also track the completed requirements as the go into troopmaster. Before we leave for camp, Each scout should have the incomplete merit badge requirements printed out so the scout has a record to take to camp.

There should be a pre-swim session set up at the YMCA for the scouts to be certified as swimmers. All members of the troop (adults included) must be certified to do any swimming at camp. If a scout cannot be classified as a swimmer they should take beginning swimming lessons at camp. Failure to be classified as a swimmer will exclude the scout from water activities the troop will participate in like the canoe trip and boating events.

The camp will have a10-day out meeting for the troop coordinators. This meeting is to obtain final schedules for camp; additional activates which occur during the week and other general information. The summer camp coordinator should attend this meeting and plan to present the information at the next troop meeting.

Every scout is required to have a class 2 medical form to attend camp. Anyone participating in C.O.P.E. or Powderhorn must have a class 3 medical form. Any adult over the age of 40 is required to have a class 3 form.

Lead up to camp:

2 troop meetings before camp the meeting should be dedicated to reviewing schedules and passing out information for packing lists. Scouts should have purchased a personal locker to pack their personal gear. The box should be no bigger than 18 inches tall, 18 inches wide and 3 feet long. These measurements will allow the box to fit neatly in the tent. A lockable box is preferred. Theft is not a problem at camp but a tiny bit of prevention will help.

Usually camp is open at 1:30 on a Sunday. The day before, a mandatory meeting at the scout building should be held. 1:30 pm is usually a meeting time. The parents must be present with the scouts during this meeting. It should not last for more than 45 minutes. During the meeting, the following topics should be covered:

· Collect spending money and enter into the bank. One adult should be the bank for the week of camp. Their responsibly will be to take and record all moneys during the meeting and hand out money as necessary during the week at camp.

· Collect and verify medical forms. Ensure the forms are complete and the correct forms are used for the activities for the week. This should be done well before the meeting as there is always a C.O.P.E participant without a class 3 form (doctor signature required)

· A parent must sign a release form for care of the scout while at camp

· All scouts are to bring their packed camp boxes to the meeting for inspection. The inspection will only be to verify the scout confirms he has the required packed materials and that he does not have any banned items. Should the scout say they have no banned items and they end up at camp with these items he will be sent home.

· Scouts are allowed to bring a 1/2 grocery bag of snacks to the camp. These will be collected and packed into containers for the next day.

· A parent letter prepared by the scoutmaster will be given to the parent. This letter should contain contact information and visiting hours for the scouts, contact numbers for the adults in camp, information for parent night and any other important reminders.

All equipment and food will be left at the scout building overnight to make packing the trailer the next day faster. Check the forms for summer camp for checklists parent letters and other information to be passed out.