A Change in the Rules

Every year or so, the Scout Association updates the rules by which the organisation is run. These rules, Policy, Organisation & Rules (PO&R) have just been updated.

There are many changes reflecting the the way Scouting needs to be run in 2011. I won’t go into them all, but one of the more interesting ones is with regard to Beaver’s nights away. The change in rules, together with this factsheet, now says that Beavers can stay away from home for longer than 24 hours (the previous rule) as long as it’s for one night. The problem with the 24 hour rule was that it made everything a bit rushed. It meant that you had, for example, to start the ‘camp’ late in the morning so breakfast etc. the following day wasn’t too rushed. This change now means that a camp can be run from 9 in the morning, to say, 3 the following afternoon, which means more activities and less rushing.

The other major change is that Beavers can now camp under canvas, as long as there is suitable alternative indoor accommodation available in case of adverse weather conditions. Actually they could before, but that was only on a family camp with their parents.

My Group’s Beaver Leader is really enthusiastic about the increase in time for Beaver camps, but she says she’ll hold off on the camping under canvas for a little while longer!

These changes in rules are great for the Beavers and hopefully will mean that they have a lifelong love of camping.