competition in scouting

[Westergaard]

When I was in scouts (Cubs and Boy Scouts), several activities had competitions between Dens and Packs, Patrols and Troops and are now no longer part of the program.
The exception would be pinewood derbies, raingutter regattas, and the rockets.
A competition is designed to see who is successful in his knowledge of a particular event and if the competition is set up to be used as an acid test to check to see if the scout's knowledge of a particular activity has been met; then why was the spirit of competition removed from the program?
I, as a leader, like the competitions as a way to recover parts of the scout program that the scout is lacking in. It is not about winning and losing but about remembering what should have been learned in the first place.
Competitions do aid in providing a quality program for our scouts.

[WB Bear]

I don’t really think it is no longer a part but I think that it is not used. There is the Pinewood derbies etc but there still is maybe ways that are a little more scuttle. Packs and Dens could track popcorn sales for example, by individual and dens. Also attendance. Den doodles are a great tool. Advancement is another area where having an advancement chart posted at the meetings rooms. There could be Cub Olympics. In Boy Scouts, Camporees can be competition for either Patrols or Troops on Scouting skills. Troops could also utilize the attendance, popcorns sales etc.

[Den5Pack457]

The boys could make walking between the Den Meeting to the water fountain competitive! :) The obstacles of creating competititions between Dens and even Cubs within a Den or Pack are:

1) Different apptitude levels (i.e. Tigers vs. Weblos II's)
2) Parental Involvement. Both pro & con, here. We discourage the parents to intercede too much with the competitve events (Derbies, Ragatta's, and Rockets); but wink~wink--nudge~nudge the parents to fully engage the popcorn sales.

BUT... I called these obstacles, not problems. Carefully planned and carried out, you can develop worthwhile competitions and make the obstacles work for the Pack or Den.

For example, in my Pack the Weblos are the roudiest bunch at Pack Meetings. The Tigers don't know what to do when we ask them to be quiet when the oldest boys there are the noisiest. A friendly competition to see who's the best behaved Den during a Pack meeting would not only encourage good behavor, but also reward the best while (hopefully); encouraging improvement from the other Den.

[WB Bear]

That is so very true, especially at the Cub level. Age appropriateness of competitions should be a consideration. However at the BS level and in Scout Skills competition, which of course is working with Patrols, you don’t have the problem, such as at a camporee. But as Den5Pack457 stated a thoughtfully planned competition can overcome the obstacles.