Dictionary definition of "scout": to explore an area in order to obtain information, to make a search.
BSA and GSUSA Scout units (as well as any other youth groups!) are enthusiastically invited to any local O Meet--no pre-registration is needed. Just show up, register your youth in the teams they will participate in and watch the FUN--kids love the freedom to make their own route choices!
Boy Scouts in particular are expected to be able to find their way in the woods. There is no better test of land navigation than the sport of Orienteering. An O Meet is a perfect opportunity for a Scout leader to provide FUN training and testing because the highly technical work of course design (not to mention setting!) has already been done for you by the O Club.
United States Orienteering Federation (USOF) Official Website JUNIORS Page (Scroll down to "Scouts" for BSA & GSUSA links)
Ed Scotts BSA Orienteering Page Ed is the USOF (National) BSA Coordinator
In the Portland, OR region, the Columbia River Orienteering Club holds a special annual Scout-O which attracts about 300 participants each year. Scouts compete in rank divisions for medals. Pre-registration is required for this event!
Rank requirements from the
11th Edition Boy Scout Handbook (BSHB)
are printed in bold and italics below.
My comments follow. Please be advised that these comments are
strictly my opinions and NOT the official policy
of the BSA, USOF, CROC or CHUCKO!
I welcome your feedback.
1a. Demonstrate how a compass works and how to orient a map. Explain what map symbols mean.
The most important "Rule of Thumb" for competiive Orienteers is to keep your map oriented. This basic skill is emphasized at every level and is taught to all beginners. On page 71 of the BSHB the paragraph called "Ruling the Map" describes the very useful technique of extending the Magnetic North arrows across the map. "Real" Orienteering maps are printed with these lines and are oriented on local Magnetic North.
"Real" Orienteering maps symbols
are somewhat different than USGS symbols.
Always check the KEY or LEGEND on whatever map you use!
1b. Using a compass and a map you've drawn, take a 5-mile hike...
Interpret "traced" for "drawn" and bring the original map anyway!!! A useful exercise might be to have the Scout re-draw a portion of a USGS map at a larger scale ("blown up"). The original map with its original colors is your most valuable document! The mapping exercise from previous editions of the BSHB (pp. 198-9 in the 10th edition) was excellent but focused on a very small area. Five miles of that would take a very long time!
2. Using a compass, complete an orienteering course that covers at least one mile and requires measuring the height and/or width of designated items...
Measuring tasks (as described BSHB pp. 122-125) have basically no relevance to navigation. They are a fun little element to add onto an O course. The skill of pacing, however, is quite valuable! Scouts should measure their pace length on a 100-meter course and practice measuring distances. Pace-counting can save an orienteer from over-shooting a control. Pacing from an attack point tells the orienteer when to expect to find the control feature. I strongly recommend using pacing from an attack point to a control for the measuring requirement.
"Complete an orienteering course" isn't much guidance! However, the description on BSHB pp. 120 highlights the essence of the Orienteering which is route choice in land navigation.
Consider what we are trying to test here: the skill of finding one's way so you don't get lost. Focus on the map! The compass game on BSHB page 118 grossly over-emphasizes compass use. Please do not send your Scouts pacing out distances along compass bearings and expect them to learn to find their way. Compass games do not teach how to interpret a map to make wise route choices and avoid getting lost.
Scouts must be tested individually. For safety an older Scout or adult may accompany the candidate while he runs his courses but must be honor-bound not to assist in any way.
The beauty of using a USOF-chartered O-Club Meet is the standardization of the course levels. Extremely detailed specifications of the technical difficulty of the navigational skills define the courses.
WHITE COURSE = Novice ("extremely
easy" -- hardly a fair challenge, obviously)
YELLOW COURSE = Advanced Beginner (M/F14: competitive level for
ages 13-14)
ORANGE COURSE = Intermediate (M/F16: competitive level for ages
15-16)
While the age group of young Scouts would indicate testing on the Yellow Course, the expectation of navigational ability as described on page 120 of the BSHB would be better tested on the Orange Course. It's your call if you are signing off the rank requirement, but I wouldn't let a boy out of my sight in the wilderness if he couldn't complete an Orange course!
Orienteering
Merit Badge
My 2 cents right up front: a Scout taking the Orienteering Merit Badge should work with a USOF-chartered O-Club.
Ed Scott, the United States Orienteering Federation Scouting Coordinator, has written an excellent Lesson Plan for the Orienteering Merit Badge. I strongly recommend using it!
Unfortunately, merit badge counselors who have not participated in "real" Orienteering Meets will likely not understand what Ed is talking about! This unfortunately includes summer camp staff. I am personally extremely disappointed to hear of summer camps as "merit badge supermarkets" where Scouts are handed merit badges like candy without any real comprehension of a subject. Maybe I'm just old-fashioned, but I feel strongly that rank and merit badges should mean something! In the case of Orienteering, we are dealing with a subject that could possibly be a matter of life and death when finding one's way in the backcountry!
Return to Chuckanut OC
last update 14NOV2001