Boy Scouts. Venturing. Organization. Scouting throughout the world

Venturing is for young adults of high school age. Venturers share experiences in a wide variety of outdoor and hobby areas. Both boys and girls can become Venturers if they are at least 14 years old and have graduated from eighth grade. Venturers are organized into units called Venturing crews. An adult leader supervises the crew and serves as its Advisor. The Advisor is the equivalent of a Boy Scout troop's Scoutmaster. Each crew elects its own officers.

Venturers participate in a wide variety of outdoor and hobby activities. Some Venturing groups specialize in a particular interest, such as backpacking or mountain climbing. Both boys and girls who are at least 14 years old may become Venturers.

Venturing crews may center their activities on a particular activity or hobby interest Some crews choose such areas as team sports or scuba diving. Many others take part in mountain climbing, kayaking, backpacking, and other outdoor activities. Crew programs help Venturers develop leadership and citizenship skills. Sea Scouting, a part of Venturing, focuses on boating, navigating, and managing a vessel at sea. Sea Scout units are called ships.

Organization. There are over 51,000 Cub Scout packs, 50,000 Boy Scout troops and teams, and 15,000 Venturing crews in the United States. The BSA charters churches, schools, and other community groups and organizations to operate these units. The chartered organizations advise the units and provide meeting places. Each unit has a committee of at least three adults that represents the chartered group. This committee is responsible for unit activities.

More than 300 local BSA councils conduct the Scouting program. These councils keep records on membership and advancement. They provide summer camps, organize expeditions, and conduct leader training courses for adults.

The councils are responsible for keeping high standards in the units in their areas. Every organization that operates a Scouting unit sends a representative to the monthly meetings of the local BSA council. Local councils elect officers and executive board members once a year. A Scout executive and a staff of assistants serve each council on a full-time professional basis.

The National Council supervises the BSA movement in the United States. Each local Scouting council sends delegates to a meeting of the National Council held every year. The delegates elect the national executive board, which directs the nationwide BSA program.

Each year, the National Council grants hundreds of awards to men and women for their volunteer services to young people. The highest recognition for such service is the Silver Buffalo Award, presented to United States citizens for exceptional service at the national level. The service may or may not be associated with the Scouting movement Two related awards are given to adult members of the BSA—the Silver Antelope Award, for outstanding service in a BSA region; and the Silver Beaver Award, for outstanding service in a local BSA council.

The BSA requires that leaders and members live according to the Scout Oath and the Scout Law. This requirement was challenged in 1992, after the BSA dismissed James Dale, a New Jersey Scoutmaster. The BSA claimed that Dale was an avowed homosexual activist Dale sued, arguing that his dismissal violated New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination.

The case eventually went to the Supreme Court of the United States. In 2000, the Supreme Court ruled that because the Boy Scouts were a private organization, they were free to define their own leadership requirements.

Scouting throughout the world. The World Scout Conference is responsible for Scouting on a worldwide basis. Each national Scout organization belongs to the conference, which meets every three years. The conference elects a 12-member World Scout Committee to do its work between meetings.

The World Scout Conference attempts to unify Scouting aims. It admits new member countries, provides for the exchange of ideas, and arranges international meetings and programs. The World Scout Committee established the World Scout Bureau to strengthen national organizations and to spread Scouting worldwide. The bureau's headquarters are located in Geneva, Switzerland.

Jamborees are among the most important Scouting events. At a national jamboree. Scouts from all areas of a country spend 7 to 10 days camping together. The Boy Scouts of America held its first national jamboree in July 1937, at the invitation of President Franklin D. Roosevelt More than 27,000 Scouts and their leaders camped at the foot of the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C

During world jamborees, held every four years. Scouts from all parts of the world meet one another. Jamborees include such events as Scouting demonstrations and pageants that show the clothing, customs, hobbies and crafts, and history of the nations represented.

Flags of all the countries fly over the campsite, and groups sing songs from the different lands. The Boy Scouts held their first world jamboree in the United Kingdom in 1920, when 301 Scouts from 32 countries camped together. Today, thousands of Scouts and leaders from countries throughout the world attend world jamborees.