Wood Badge

Training Information

2013 Wood Badge Training Information

What is Wood Badge

Wood Badge is advanced training in leadership skills for all adults in BSA programs.

Who is Wood Badge Training for?

Leaders in Cub Scouting, Boy Scouting, Varsity Scouting, Venturing, and commissioner service are invited to participate in Wood Badge.

It is the goal of the BSA that every leader attend Wood Badge within two years of registering as an adult leader.

Take Basic Training for Your Position First!

You should have completed Fast Start Training, New Leader Essentials and Leader Specific training for your position prior to taking Wood Badge training.

Wood Badge Training Objectives

As a result of attending Wood Badge, participants will be able to

• View Scouting globally, as a family of interrelated, values-based programs that provide age-appropriate activities for youth.
• Recognize the contemporary leadership concepts utilized in corporate America and leading government organizations that are relevant to our values-based movement.
• Apply the skills they learn from their participation as a member of a successful working team.
• Revitalize their commitment by sharing in an overall inspirational experience that helps provide Scouting with the leadership it needs to accomplish its mission on an ongoing basis.

Wood Badge a Two-Step Process

Step 1. The Practical Course

For six days (either a week-long or two-weekend format), you will live, learn & work with other Scouters while being exposed to the leadership skills applicable to the development of high-performance teams. You will also develop a set of goals (the “ticket”) to be completed in the 18 months following the practical course.

Step 2. The Application Phase

Completed within 18 months following the practical course

During the application phase you apply the leadership skills that you learned during the practical course by working the goals (the “ticket”) that you established & that were approved during the course. Throughout this period, your Troop Guide (staff member) acts as a resource counselor & a Scouting Friend to help you complete your “ticket” and accomplish your goals in Scouting. After your Guide confirms that you have achieved your goals, you are presented with the Wood Badge neckerchief, woggle & beads, a worldwide recognition to wear with your Scouting uniform.

How Wood Badge Began

On the morning of September 8, 1919, a 62 year-old retired British Army General stepped into a clearing at Gilwell Park outside of London, England. He raised to his lips the horn of a great Kudu, one of the largest African antelopes. He blew a long, sharp blast and 19 men gathered in patrols for a new training course for Scout Leaders. At the end of this training program Sir Robert Baden-Powell looked for a suitable recognition. He chose the wooden beads from a chieftain’s necklace he had gotten during his military service in Africa, and mounted them on a leather bootlace, a symbol of good luck. The training course and recognition became known as the “Wood Badge.” B-P wanted his volunteers to experience leadership through the eyes of the youth. He created a course to help leaders experience the game of scouting and to develop a vision of what it would do for our youth. It is, first and foremost, learning by doing.