Belt Loops and Pins

I was looking for another topic to post on today. I thought I would have to wait until after this weekend's Pack Camping experience.  Not so, I had an email that just chapped my hide worse than  wearing shorts  soaked in salt water on hike.  I follow several  cub scout resources online, this email was from a person who was told not to encourage boys to participate in the Sports and Academics program. I would call this an auxillary program to Cub Scouting, but here is how National Council describes it.

The Cub Scout Academics and Sports program is a supplemental enrichment program that complements the existing Cub Scout program. The Academics subjects and Sports activities allow boys to learn new techniques, increase scholarship skills, develop sportsmanship, and have fun. Boys participating in the program will be recognized for enjoying teamwork, developing physical fitness, and discovering and building new talents. The Academics and Sports program encourages a boy to do his best.

Having done time as a den leader, I did not push the belt loops. I had a very small den of two boys. It just didn't make sense.  I do still think that this is the Cub Scout equivalent to Merit Badges. You start with a group of little tiggers and have them do just the Belt loop.  Then about the time you get to late in the wolf program you expand them out to  the Pins  and make it a bit harder.  So when they get to the Webelos Activity Badges, they are used to working a series of small steps to  get the badge, loop, or pin. So  to anyone saying stay away from the Sports and Academics Program, would you tell the boy scouts to stay away from Merit Badges?

I called this an auxillary program earlier. I  don't think it can be dismmissed in Cub Scouting. One reason being  is several of the Webelos Activity Badges  tie into the program.  You cannot earn the Citizenship Badge without the Citizenship Belt Loop.  You cannot earn the Sportsman Badge without 4 Belt Loops.  The rank requirements tie into the Sports and Academics Program. That's why I do not consider it supplemental or optional.  It is  seperate from Rank but also required for a well run and planned program. 

From here the discussion digressed into a budget conversation, but the point is include this in your program.  Budget for it.  Do it! It expands the scouts horizons, and that is what scouting is about. Just one of many things scouting is about, but scouting is about expanding horizons.

UPDATE: More of a rhetorical question if a boy earns an award  do they have to recieve a Patch, Belt Loop or Pin? Is Cub Scouting for the Bling or the experience. No where have I found that  you have to award the Whittling chip patch. You do have to award the card, loose four corners and you have to earn your chip over.  How else do you keep track of lost corners? Alot of packs only award the actual belt loop for the first earning of the loop. Each Belt loop or pin can be earned multiple times, but I think more than once as a tigger, wolf or bear and once as Webelos is overkill.  You can buy 15 cards for the price of a belt loop and it hasn't diminished the experience any. The boy is recognized fro his accomplishment, maybe not as noticable as if he recieved the bling. but he was recognized. Just another reason to not keep this program from your boys.