Boy Scout Weekend

[WakingMeHappy]

Wow, what a weekend. Saturday morning at 6am I headed for the lake with my sons Boy Scout troop to work on their water ski/wakeboard merit badge. There were 11 scouts, 4 adults and 2 boats. We were on the water ALL day long. By dinner time I was completely whooped. We camped at the lake that night and at 7am we were at it again till about noon Sunday. Even though most of the boys had never been in a boat 6 boys earned their merit badge. I have plenty of pics and am going to make them a DVD. When it’s done I’ll post it on youtube for everyone to see. They’re already talking about doing this again in the spring. By the way, it rained till early afternoon on Saturday. There was no lightning so we went ahead and hit the lake in the rain. It was a great weekend.

[Soon2BV]

Very cool.

One word of caution - be sure it is acceptable within the Boy Scout rules to post pictures, especially with names, without prior written consent from the boys and/or parents. There are a lot of child protection laws and rules that come into play with schools and organized youth organizations to protect identities of minors on line.

[WakingMeHappy]

Very cool.

One word of caution - be sure it is acceptable within the Boy Scout rules to post pictures, especially with names, without prior written consent from the boys and/or parents. There are a lot of child protection laws and rules that come into play with schools and organized youth organizations to protect identities of minors on line.

Your right. I already checked and there won't be any names at all. It will be set up for the troop to use as a recruiting tool.

[Slurpee]

Fond memories..... I remember my dad doing that for my troop. I already had it so I was the teen floating in the lake all day swimming after my friends to help them learn after they fell over and over. Come to think of it... not much has changed. Still do that just now it's nieces, nephews, and cousin's kids.

Helped my cousin get his last summer 20 years after I got mine. I'd forgotten about some of the requirements being so odd, but he got 'em in the end. He still learned a heel side and toe side wakeboard wake to wakes twice as fast as getting one ski and then the other out of the water with pairs.

[RedOwl]

Wow, what a weekend. Saturday morning at 6am I headed for the lake with my sons Boy Scout troop to work on their water ski/wakeboard merit badge. There were 11 scouts, 4 adults and 2 boats. We were on the water ALL day long. By dinner time I was completely whooped. We camped at the lake that night and at 7am we were at it again till about noon Sunday. Even though most of the boys had never been in a boat 6 boys earned their merit badge. I have plenty of pics and am going to make them a DVD. When it’s done I’ll post it on youtube for everyone to see. They’re already talking about doing this again in the spring. By the way, it rained till early afternoon on Saturday. There was no lightning so we went ahead and hit the lake in the rain. It was a great weekend.

Cheers to you for doing that! I bet it was pretty special for your son to have his dad as the merit badge counselor.

The on-the-water-badges were some of my favorite merit badges I ever earned as a Scout.

Is there still a "boating" merit badge, or do they only have watersports badges these days? I only ask, because the boating merit badge I earned was done in conjunction with the DNR Boater Safety course and I killed two birds with one stone. It was a great way to learn a valuable skill AND advance in rank.

Edited September 29, 2009 by RedOwl

[Baddog]

Fond memories..... I remember my dad doing that for my troop. I already had it so I was the teen floating in the lake all day swimming after my friends to help them learn after they fell over and over. Come to think of it... not much has changed. Still do that just now it's nieces, nephews, and cousin's kids.

Helped my cousin get his last summer 20 years after I got mine. I'd forgotten about some of the requirements being so odd, but he got 'em in the end. He still learned a heel side and toe side wakeboard wake to wakes twice as fast as getting one ski and then the other out of the water with pairs.

What are all the requirements for that badge?

[obski]

Wow, what a weekend. Saturday morning at 6am I headed for the lake with my sons Boy Scout troop to work on their water ski/wakeboard merit badge. There were 11 scouts, 4 adults and 2 boats. We were on the water ALL day long. By dinner time I was completely whooped. We camped at the lake that night and at 7am we were at it again till about noon Sunday. Even though most of the boys had never been in a boat 6 boys earned their merit badge. I have plenty of pics and am going to make them a DVD. When it’s done I’ll post it on youtube for everyone to see. They’re already talking about doing this again in the spring. By the way, it rained till early afternoon on Saturday. There was no lightning so we went ahead and hit the lake in the rain. It was a great weekend.

Cheers to you for doing that! I bet it was pretty special for your son to have his dad as the merit badge counselor.

The on-the-water-badges were some of my favorite merit badges I ever earned as a Scout.

Is there still a "boating" merit badge, or do they only have watersports badges these days? I only ask, because the boating merit badge I earned was done in conjunction with the DNR Boater Safety course and I killed two birds with one stone. It was a great way to learn a valuable skill AND advance in rank.

They have both merit badges. The waterski one was changed to allow wakeboarding and renamed watersports.

[WakingMeHappy]

Fond memories..... I remember my dad doing that for my troop. I already had it so I was the teen floating in the lake all day swimming after my friends to help them learn after they fell over and over. Come to think of it... not much has changed. Still do that just now it's nieces, nephews, and cousin's kids.

Helped my cousin get his last summer 20 years after I got mine. I'd forgotten about some of the requirements being so odd, but he got 'em in the end. He still learned a heel side and toe side wakeboard wake to wakes twice as fast as getting one ski and then the other out of the water with pairs.

What are all the requirements for that badge?

The old requirement was to know the hand signals and stay up on skis for 5 minutes. They changed the 5 minute rule to going in and out of the wake 4 times. That still takes about 5 minutes for a beginner.

[Baddog]

Fond memories..... I remember my dad doing that for my troop. I already had it so I was the teen floating in the lake all day swimming after my friends to help them learn after they fell over and over. Come to think of it... not much has changed. Still do that just now it's nieces, nephews, and cousin's kids.

Helped my cousin get his last summer 20 years after I got mine. I'd forgotten about some of the requirements being so odd, but he got 'em in the end. He still learned a heel side and toe side wakeboard wake to wakes twice as fast as getting one ski and then the other out of the water with pairs.

What are all the requirements for that badge?

The old requirement was to know the hand signals and stay up on skis for 5 minutes. They changed the 5 minute rule to going in and out of the wake 4 times. That still takes about 5 minutes for a beginner.

The old rule would be a fail for me. I can't stay up for 5 minutes and I sort of know what I am supposed to be doing. In and out 4 times? That I can do. Send the patch.