On the advancement trail, a Cub Scout progresses from rank to rank, learning new skills as he goes. Each of the ranks and awards in Cub Scouting has its own requirements. As you advance through the ranks, the requirements get more challenging, to match the new skills and abilities you learn as you get older.

Bobcat

No matter what age or grade a boy joins Cub Scouting, he must earn his Bobcat badge before he can advance to the rank of Tiger Cub, Wolf, Bear, or Webelos. A boy must complete the Bobcat requirements, which include:

• Learn and say the Cub Scout motto, the Cub Scout Promise, and the Law of the Pack and tell what they mean;
• Show the Cub Scout sign, salute, and handshake and tell what they mean; and
• Show that you understand and believe that it is important to be honest and trustworthy.

Tiger Cub

To begin his path to the Tiger Cub rank, the Tiger Cub (age 7) must learn the Cub Scout promise, the Cub Scout sign, and the Cub Scout salute. When he has learned these, he gets his Tiger Cub emblem, which is a tiger paw with four strings for beads. He wears the emblem on his right pocket.

As a boy finishes each part of the five Tiger Cub achievements, he earns an orange bead (for den activities), a white bead (for family activities), or a black bead (for "Go See Its"). When the boy has earned five beads of each color, he can receive his Tiger Cub badge. The Tiger Cub badge is given to the boy's adult partner at a pack meeting. Then, during a grand ceremony, the adult gives the badge to the boy.

Wolf

The Wolf rank is for boys who have finished first grade (or who are 8 years old). To earn the Wolf badge, a boy must pass 12 achievements. His parent or guardian approves each achievement by signing his book. When the boy has met all requirements, the Wolf badge is presented to his parent or guardian at the next pack meeting. During an impressive ceremony, the parent or guardian then presents the badge to the boy.

After he has earned the Wolf badge, a Wolf Cub Scout can work on the 23 Wolf electives until he finishes second grade (or turns 9 years old). He can choose from more than 100 elective projects that may show him new hobbies and teach him skills that will be useful during his Boy Scout years. When he completes 10 elective projects, he earns a Gold Arrow Point to wear under the Wolf badge. For each 10 elective projects after that, he earns a Silver Arrow Point.

Bear

The Bear rank is for boys who have finished second grade (or are 9 years old). There are 24 Bear achievements in four groups. A boy must complete 12 of the achievements to be a Bear Cub Scout. These requirements are harder and more challenging than those for the Wolf badge. When a boy has earned his Bear badge, he may work on electives to earn Arrow Points to wear under his Bear badge.

Webelos

Webelos dens are for boys who have completed third grade (or reached age 10). The Webelos den program is different from the Cub Scout den program. Everything in the Webelos Scout program is more challenging than what younger boys in the pack do. Webelos Scouts get to work on the 20 Webelos activity badges:

• Physical Skills
  • Aquanaut
  • Athlete
  • Fitness
  • Sportsman
• Mental Skills
  • Artist
  • Scholar
  • Showman
  • Traveler
• Community
  • Citizen
  • Communicator
  • Family Member
  • Readyman
• Technology
  • Craftsman
  • Engineer
  • Handyman
  • Scientist
• Outdoor Activity
  • Forester
  • Geologist
  • Naturalist
  • Outdoorsman

Webelos Scouts work on requirements during their weekly den meetings. Once a boy learns a skill, he practices it at den meetings and at home on his own. His family helps him at home. Webelos Scouts bring the projects they do at home to the den meetings to show others, and to have the Webelos den leader approve their projects.

When a boy has done the requirements for an activity badge, the Webelos den leader or activity badge counselor, rather than a parent, approves most of the activity badges. It takes three activity badges, including Fitness and Citizen, to earn the Webelos badge.

Besides earning activity badges, Webelos Scouts can earn the compass points emblem. This emblem is awarded after a Webelos Scout has earned seven activity badges. For each four activity badges a Webelos Scout earns after that, he receives a compass point—east, west, north, and south.

Arrow of Light

The highest rank in Cub Scouting is the Arrow of Light Award. Earning this rank prepares a Webelos Scout to become a Boy Scout. Webelos Scouts who have earned the Arrow of Light Award have also completed all requirements for the Boy Scout badge.

This award is the only Cub Scout badge that can be worn on the Boy Scout uniform when a boy graduates into a troop. Adult leaders who earned the Arrow of Light Award when they were young may also show their achievement by wearing a special square knot on their adult uniform. Information about other Awards and Recognitions for Cub Scouts can be found on the national site.

Boy Scouting provides a series of surmountable obstacles and steps in overcoming them through the advancement method. The Boy Scout plans his advancement and progresses at his own pace as he meets each challenge. The Boy Scout is rewarded for each achievement, which helps him gain self-confidence. The steps in the advancement system help a Boy Scout grow in self-reliance and in the ability to help others.

Below are the Boy Scout ranks along with a link listing the requirements for that Rank

• Scout
• Tenderfoot
• 2nd Class
• 1st Class
• Star
• Life
• Eagle

Be sure to go to the Eagle Scout section to learn more about Service Project approvals and Eagle Board of Reviews

For information about Alternative requirements for Scouts with Special needs (Tenderfoot through first class only) visit the national site.

You can learn about sports, crafts, science, trades, business, and future careers as you earn merit badges. There are more than 100 merit badges. Any Boy Scout may earn any merit badge at any time. You don't need to have had rank advancement to be eligible. Requirements for the Merit badges below can be found here.

To find a local merit badge counselor, download this merit badge counselor list and contact the district's advancement chairman, Scott Bailey ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ), for the access password.

American Business American Cultures American Heritage American Labor Animal Science Archaeology Archery Architecture Art Astronomy Athletics Automotive Maintenance Aviation Backpacking Basketry Bird Study Bugling Camping Canoeing Chemistry Cinematography Citizenship in the Community Citizenship in the Nation Citizenship in the World Climbing Coin Collecting Collections Communication Composite Materials Computers Cooking Crime Prevention Cycling Dentistry Disabilities Awareness Dog Care Drafting Electricity Electronics Emergency Preparedness Energy Engineering

Entrepreneurship Environmental Science Family Life Farm Mechanics Fingerprinting Fire Safety First Aid Fish and Wildlife Management Fishing Fly-Fishing Forestry Gardening Genealogy Geocaching Geology Golf Graphic Arts Hiking Home Repairs Horsemanship Indian Lore Insect Study Inventing Journalism Landscape Architecture Law Leatherwork Lifesaving Mammal Study Medicine Metal Work Model Design and Building Motorboating Music Nature Nuclear Science Oceanography Orienteering Painting Personal Fitness Personal Management Pets

Photography Pioneering Plant Science Plumbing Pottery Public Health Public Speaking Pulp and Paper Radio Railroading Reading Reptile and Amphibian Study Rifle Shooting Robotics Rowing Safety Salesmanship Scholarship Scouting Heritage Scuba Diving Sculpture Shotgun Shooting Skating Small-Boat Sailing Snow Sports Soil and Water Conservation Space Exploration Sports Stamp Collecting Surveying Swimming Textile Theater Traffic Safety Truck Transportation Veterinary Medicine Water Sports Weather Whitewater Wilderness Survival Woodcarving Wood Working

If you are interested in becoming a merit badge counselor, fill out this form and turn it in to the Council office.

Purpose

The purpose of these guidelines is to inform troop adult leadership and the Eagle Scout Candidates of the proper procedure for requesting and receiving approval of Eagle Projects and for requesting a District Representative to attend Eagle Scout Boards of Review. The District Advancement Committee, which puts these Guidelines forth, is responsible for approving projects and participating in Eagle Scout Boards of Review.

Attire

When the Eagle Scout Candidate meets with the District Advancement Committee Representative(s) for Project Approval and Boards of Review, all are expected to wear appropriate attire. Full Scout Uniforms are always appropriate, and are required for the Eagle Scout Candidate. Business casual attire is the minimum expected attire for the District Representative(s).

Project Approvals

Project workbook link- http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/512-927.pdf While a Life Scout, a Scout must plan, develop, and give leadership to others in a service project to any religious institution, school, or community.

As a demonstration of leadership, the Scout must plan the work, organize the personnel needed, and direct the project to its completion.

The Eagle service project is an individual matter; therefore, two Eagle candidates may not receive credit for the same project.

Eagle Scout leadership service projects involving council property or other BSA activities are not acceptable for an Eagle service project. The service project also may not be performed for a business, be of a commercial nature, or be a fund-raiser. Routine labor, or a job or service normally rendered, should not be considered. An Eagle service project should be of significant magnitude to be special and should represent the candidate's best possible effort.

It is the responsibility of the Eagle Scout Candidate to contact the District Advancement Committee chairman to schedule an appointment to review his Eagle Scout Project Proposal. These reviews normally are held at the Huguenot Trail District Roundtables.

When meeting with the District Advancement Committee, it is desirable for the Eagle Scout Candidate to have with him one of the following: his Scoutmaster, his Troop Committee Chairman, or his Troop Advancement Chairman. The Candidate also should have all of his approval signatures for his project proposal. So that all members can have easy access to the Project Proposal Workbook, the Candidate should bring a minimum of four copies of his proposal in addition to the original (with signatures) to Roundtable.

To make an appointment with the district advancement committee to discuss your project and get it approved, please complete this form. You may also download a copy of the Project and Board of Review Guidelines.

After the Eagle Scout Candidate has presented his project, the District Advancement Committee will do one of the following:

• Approve the project as written and allow the Eagle Scout Candidate to proceed working on his project.
• Approve the project with minor additions and changes and allow the Eagle Scout Candidate to precede working on his project.
• Not approve the project, explain what needs to be corrected to obtain approval, and set-up a time for approval. If a project is not approved, the Candidate should not seek or expect a second opinion from other District Advancement Committee Members.

Upon completion of the project, a detailed report must be submitted with the Scout's Eagle application to include the following information:

• What was the project?
• How did it benefit others?
• Who from the group benefiting from the project gave guidance?
• Who helped carry out the project?
• What materials were used and how were they acquired?

Although the project plan must be approved before work is begun, the board of review must determine if the project was successfully carried out. Questions that must be answered are:

• Did the candidate demonstrate leadership of others?
• Did he indeed direct the project rather than do all of the work himself?
• Was the project of real value to the religious institution, school, or community group?
• Who from the group benefiting from the project may be contacted to verify the value of the project?
• Did the project follow the plan, or were modifications needed to bring it to its completion?

All the work on the project must be done while the candidate is a Life Scout and before the candidate's 18th birthday.

The variety of projects performed throughout the nation by Scouts earning their Eagle Scout Award is staggering. For ideas and opportunities, the Scout can consult people such as school administrators, religious leaders, local government department directors, or a United Way agency's personnel.

Board of Reviews

The Eagle Scout Board of Review is a Troop function, but a District Advancement Committee Representative is required to be in attendance. As a member of the Board of Review, the District Representative has the same privileges as the other members of the board. Only members of the Huguenot Trail District Advancement Committee should serve as district representatives on Eagle Scout Boards of Review without the approval of the District Advancement Committee Chairman.

The Chairman of the Board of Review is a Committee Member from the Troop. In certain cases, the District Representative may chair the Board at the request of the troop. Prior to the Board of Review convening, the Eagle Scout Candidate must have already secured all necessary signatures on his Eagle Scout application and on his Eagle Scout Project Workbook. Members of the Board of Review must be 21 years of age or older per National Standard and cannot be a relative of the scout or a scoutmaster in the scout’s troop. All Boards of Review should be held within 90 days of a Scout turning 18. If it is necessary to hold a Board of Review after these 90 days, the Troop Committee Chairman must contact the District Advancement Committee Chairman.

To contact the district advancement committee and schedule an Eagle Board of Review, please complete this form. Make sure to have provided your references with copies of the Eagle Scout References Template, your troop's Advancement Chairman should have received these references by the time of your board of review.

If the Eagle Scout Candidate is not successful at the Board of Review, he will be made aware of the reasons leading to this decision and, when practical, he will be told what to do in order to be successful at a future Board of Review. As with all Boards of Review, the Candidate must pass by a unanimous decision.

Scouts with Special Needs

Questions regarding alternative Eagle Scout requirements for a Scout with special needs can be answered here. There is also a specialApplication for Alternate Eagle Scout Rank Merit badges. If you have any further questions, please contact the Advancement Chair.

Special opportunities exist for both Scouts and their leaders. Some awards are age specific while others can be earned by all. Please take advantage of the wonderful programs and use the links below to find more information on these popular awards

• Boardsailing BSA
• Den Chief Service Award
• 50-Miler Award
• Firem'n Chit
• Historic Trails Award
• Interpreter Strip
• Kayaking BSA
• Leave No Trace
• Lifesaving and Meritorious Action Awards
• Mile Swim BSA
• Paul Bunyan Woodsman
• Religious Emblems
• Scuba BSA
• Snorkeling BSA
• Totin' Chip
• William T. Hornaday Awards
• World Conservation Award