Traditional Scouting

In 1967, in an attempt to address declining membership numbers, The Boy Scout Association made a series of sweeping changes to its program. Outlined in a document called The Chief Scouts' Advance Party Report, those changes included modifications to the uniform, a new training system, the elimination of Lone Scouts and Rover Scouts, maximum ages for both youth and adult leaders, and minimum membership numbers for all groups. This caused a rift in the movement, and the Baden-Powell Scouts' Association was formed in 1970. Lady Baden-Powell, widow of B-P, granted them the use of her husband's name.[1]

In addition, there have been alternative Scouting Associations in the United Kingdom since the founding of the movement, including the British Boy Scouts, formed in 1909, and the European Scout Federation (British Association), formed in 1959.[2] The world's oldest international Scouting organisation, the Order of World Scouts, predated the Boy Scout Association's international alliance by nine years.[3] Those groups are now associated with Traditional Scouting by virtue of their adherence to the original program.[4] New groups also continue to form in the United Kingdom, including the Pathfinder Scouts Association in 1982.

Traditional Scouting came to North America in 1996 with the founding of the Baden-Powell Scouts' Association of Canada (B-PSAC).[5] Forced by Industry Canada to remove "Scout" from its name, the organization renamed itself the Baden-Powell Service Association.[6]

In 2006, a group of independent Rover Scouts in the United States formed an organization named "Baden-Powell Scouting" to promote Traditional Scouting. They were renamed the Baden-Powell Service Association (BPSA-US) in 2008, and began offering youth programs shortly thereafter.[7]

Traditional Scouting is often based on Robert Baden-Powell's book Scouting for Boys, making changes only for advances in health and safety practices, environmental concerns ("Leave No Trace"), and lightweight equipment.[8][9][10]

Traditional Scouting uses a Scout Method of progressive self-education through:

• Having a Scout uniform, Promise, and Law;
• Learning by doing (hands-on training);
• The Patrol System - Scouts work in small, youth-led groups where they are responsible to and for each other;
• A progressive and stimulating program of varied activities based on the interests of the participants, including games, useful skills, and services in the community, and all taking place largely in an outdoor setting in contact with nature

As the policy of the World Organization of the Scouting Movement is to admit only one Scouting Association per country,[11] independent international associations had to be formed to foster cooperation across national borders. The World Federation of Independent Scouts (WFIS) and its spin-off World Organization of Independent Scouts WOIS were founded to coordinate international cooperation between Associations.[8][12]

One way in which Traditional Scouting groups distinguish themselves from Baden-Powell's original vision is by opening the program to groups of people originally prohibited. The British Boy Scouts and British Girl Scouts Association was one of the first to admit girls and host co-educational troops.[9] Other groups have formed specifically to welcome gay and lesbian Scouts and leaders banned from other Scouting organizations.[7] The BPSA-US, in particular, has from its founding promoted a policy it calls "Inclusive Scouting", welcoming all adults and children "regardless of race, gender identity, sexual orientation, class, ability, religion (or no religion), or other differentiating factors."[7][13]

There are several differences between modern Scouting and Traditional Scouting:[9][14]

• The Patrol Method is central; groups are youth-led with adults providing only the minimum amount of supervision.
• Uniform - The uniform is designed to be used as a practical outdoor method, rather than as expensive indoor clothing for "formal occasions." The uniform should be a joy to wear in the wilderness. Some groups use a traditional uniform style, with campaign hat, as Baden-Powell's original Scouts did. They also may wear square neckerchiefs; the extra material means the neckers are not just decorative but have additional practical uses.
• All leaders and Association officials are volunteers, with no paid staff.
• Badges reflect proficiency in skills, not one-off accomplishments, and Scouts are re-tested every year to demonstrate their continued proficiency in order to keep wearing the badges they have earned.
• Scouts practice and display their proficiency by teaching younger Scouts in their Patrol.
• Badges are earned in Scoutcraft, woodcraft and public service. There are no badges for technology or other modern topics.
• Advancement is based strictly on the mastery of Scoutcraft skills and Proficiency Badges: There are no Scout spirit, Scoutmaster conference, or Board of Review requirements. Traditional Scouting is analogous to a game played to teach Citizenship strictly through indirect methods.
• Traditional Scout Associations often support both Rover Scouting and Lone Scouting.

• Non-aligned Scouting and Scout-like organisations
• World Federation of Independent Scouts
• Confédération Européenne de Scoutisme

• Traditional Scouting blog
• UK Pathfinder Scout Association