Sandra in FL Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 Dd has been a Girl Scout since kindergarten. Her troop dissolved 2 years ago. I have been unable to find a troop that will take her in so we've just been doing our own GS thing at home. The Catholic church close by has a Venturers program alongside their Boy Scout program. My 11 yr old ds could join the Boy Scout troop and my 8 yr old ds their Cub Scout program. It would be so nice if I could take them all to 1 place on the same night. Has anyone had any experience with the Venturers? Blessings, Sandra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keptwoman Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 All scouts are co-ed here. Venturers is for 15-18yos. Is that what you are talking about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 My kids are Venturers (well, ds is about to go up). As Sandra says, all Scouts is co-ed here. The only issues we have with Venturers is that it is from ages 14.5 to 18, and well, its co-ed, and well, I have actually had to demand adult supervision at some camps. I even heard tonight that the adult supervisor told my daughter and her friend that she wasonly sleeping in the same room as them (at the last camp) because of my dd, who is 15, not dd's friend, because she is 16...and therefore the legal age! What a thing to say! However, I am not too worried about it...its more protecting all their reputations...and overall, my kids LIVE for Scouts and Venturers. It has given them so many amazing experiences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 Venturers in the US is different from Venturers overseas. As I understand it, Venturers in Europe is an age group/rank of Scouting (which is co-ed all along). So all Scouts who stay in long enough eventually become Venturers. Venturers in the US is part of Boy Scouts but separate if that makes any sense. A unit is either a Boy Scout unit or a Venturers unit. It starts older, but is not the normal progression for all Scouts. Most Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts stay Boys Scouts or Girl Scouts as long as they are Scouts. Only a few track into Venturers. Venturers in the US is the only co-ed scout group, has it's own ranks and badges (Venturers cannot earn Eagle unless they started the process as a Boy Scout) and wears different uniforms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krista in LA Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 My dh is in the process of starting a Venture crew here - he's been involved in Scouting since ds was a Tiger Cub. I encourage you to go check it out. As Margaret said, each crew decides what it wants its focus to be - we even have a scuba crew near us. We love all of the Boy Scout programs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb in NZ Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 (edited) My dd has been in Venturers for over 5 years after 5 years as a Girl Guide. She LOVES Venturers. She is now secretary on the National Venturer Council. Ds#1 just moved to up to Venturers this year. He has been in SeaScouts for over 10 years & lives for Scouting. Venturer units in NZ co-ed & are for ages 14-19. In our SeaScout group we keep our scouts as scouts until they reach senior scout age (15.5) as we find that they settle into Venturers better. 14yo is too young IMHO. Each Venturer unit sets their own rules, but every Venturer in NZ must abide by the DADS rule (no drugs, no alcohol, no discrimination, & no sex). Co-ed tents are not uncommon, but only as a group, not just a couple. Leaders & scouts (of any age) are never allowed to sleep in the same tent! My dd has had the opportunity to do more adventurous activities than would otherwise have been possible without scouting. She moved 5 hours south to begin her degree & promptly joined the local seascout venturer unit. I am really looking forward to catching up with her this weekend at our region's seascout regatta. Some of the highlights of Venturering for our family have been: ***the opportunity for my dc to earn the Duke of Edinburgh award (dd is almost finished her Gold & ds#1 has just begun his Silver) ***a week-long canoe trip with the NZ Scout Canoe School ***a week-long camp learning alpine skills with the NZ Scout MountainCraft School ***many, many tramps (hikes) ***chance to learn rowing, sailing, knots, kayaking, etc. (we're in a SeaScout group) ***participating in many regattas & other competitions ***NZ Mountain Safety courses (Basic Bushcraft, Outdoor First Aid, etc.) ***NZ CoastGuard courses (DaySkippers Certificate, VHF Radio Certificate, etc.) ***chances to develop leadership skills ***chances to develop public speaking skills, organization skills, etc. in real life ***taking part in activities that dh did as a child (dh was a cub/scout/venturer in the same SeaScout group) ***doing things as a family When dd interviewed for her degree course, her list of achievements (most of which she earned through scouting) was the determining factor in her getting accepted into the program as she did not have the required credits. When ds#1 enlists next year, the Navy will look very highly on his 10++ years experience in SeaScouts. *** having all 3 dc in the same scout group has been a nice bonus. ;) JMHO, Edited March 24, 2010 by Deb in NZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keptwoman Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 Ah Deb, I'm so envious of your Sea Scout group! We were in one in Auckland and J really loved it, but over here the closest is too far away. We have been lucky enough though to find a very active troop which has a normal hall, and an old sea scout hall, so they do do some sea scout stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m0mmaBuck Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 My husband and I started a Venture Crew here (WA) last Fall. It's co-ed, ages 14-21. We are about 50-50 gender-wise. Initially we had some issues having enough female leaders for outings because several of the moms didn't want to go hiking, camping, rock climbing, shooting, kayaking, or what have you. If I went, DH was unable to go because someone had to be home with our younger two. That, in turn, created an issue for adult male supervision. We finally got some of the other parents to step up, become registered adults, and take their turns supervising outings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb in NZ Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Sandra, What SeaScout group was your son with in AKL? Here in Northland we only have 2 SeaScout groups (Shackleton & Doubtless Bay), but those living in AKL have lots to choose from for scouts (airscouts, seascouts, & ,of course, land scouts). Over the past 5 years we have gotten to know many of the seascout groups as we see them at each regatta. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keptwoman Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 He was at Orakei, he went to the Regatta in 2005 when it was on Motutapu?? He has fond memories of Friday sails to Devonport for Fish and Chips. Unfortunately Melbourne Sea Scouting is not as strong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb in NZ Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 at the Northland regatta 3 weeks ago. My dc missed the 2005 National Regatta at Motatapu as we were in the States at that time visiting my family. We were all set to attend the 2009 National Regatta in Wellington, but that got cancelled :mad: so instead they got to go to a "training" regatta at Motatapu :001_smile: They had a blast, but it would have been nice to go to Wellington. We are with Shackleton SeaScouts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.