To cross over to Boy Scouts, a Webelos scout needs to meet one of these 3 conditions: he is at least 10 years old and has earned the Arrow of Light Award; OR he is at least 10 years old and has completed the fifth grade; OR he is 11 years old. A parent or legal guardian will need to complete and sign the Boy Scout application. If assistance is needed in completing the application, please ask one of our leaders who will be glad to help.
Before he crosses over, a Webelos scout should have already completed all of the Webelos advancements that he needs or wants to earn – for instance, all of the activity badges, if that is his goal. A scout MAY work on Webelos advancements for as long as the entire summer, and THEN cross over to the troop; however, crossing over as early as possible is advised, in order to begin Boy Scout requirements right away – especially by going to summer camp, where new scouts get a good jump on their early ranks. NOTE: if Arrow of Light is needed to join Boy Scouts, it must be completed AND REPORTED TO COUNCIL before transferring.
At crossover, a troop representative will change the Scout’s shoulder loops and put a troop neckerchief on him. We supply the new shoulder loops and a “422” troop number emblem at no charge, but a new Scout is asked to reimburse the troop the cost of his new neckerchief. Each new Scout should also provide his own Boy Scout Handbook, uniform shirt and neckerchief slide.
The BSA registration of any currently-registered Scout or adult will be transferred at council for $1, then runs through December. This dollar covers the entire transfer of a Scout who already gets Boy’s Life. A new Scout not currently getting Boy’s Life will need to pay $1 per month for a new subscription prorated from the current month through December (with no charge in December). Because Troop 422 is a 100% Boy’s Life unit, a magazine needs to go to each Scout’s home – although if brothers are Scouts, that can be just one subscription, for them to share. (Reading Boy’s Life helps boys stay in Scouting and advance through the ranks. Troop 422 also gets free rank badges from the council, as a 100% Boys’ Life unit.)
Troop dues are $3 per month. This pays for quarterly court of honor awards & other troop expenses. A new scout is asked to pay prorated dues through December, within two weeks of joining. A full year’s dues ($36) is normally collected before recharter, each Fall.
All the “Scout” badge requirements need to be done in short order. In Boy Scouts, only scout leaders can sign off on any advancement requirements. Parents and Scouts must go through the Pamphlet Exercises for Scout badge requirement 9 at home, right away. This is for youth protection training. The Scout badge must be completed and signed off before a Scout can begin any work toward Tenderfoot through First Class ranks or merit badges. Any Scout who earned Arrow of Light & very many other Webelos awards should already be quite familiar with most of the requirements for Scout and Tenderfoot.
Summer Camp: a new Scout has 30 more days from his crossover date to sign up for summer camp at the “early bird” rate. If crossed over much before the troop’s early deadline though, he’ll just pay a deposit then, with the balance due in May. Camp registration is done through the troop, which also collects completed health forms from all (required before first campout).
Summer camp class assignments are made at council on a first-come basis. The sooner a Scout signs up for camp, the better. The troop tries to get all new scouts into one “Green Bar” class together. NOTE: Webelos CAN sign up for summer camp before crossing over!
Updated: 4/03/2012
Boy Scout Troop 422 - Smyrna, Tennessee 