A big change will mark an upcoming campout next month for First Coast area Boy Scouts and prospective Scouts.
The North Florida Council of the Boy Scouts of America will be hosting a weekend campout on February 1 and 2 at the St. Johns River Base at Echockotee, perhaps better known to veteran scouts as Camp Echockotee.
What makes this year unique is boys AND girls are invited to attend as the formerly all-boys Boy Scouts integrates girls.
A new name is also being rolled out to reflect Scouting's new co-ed nature. Beginning February 1, the program offered by the Boy Scouts of America for youth ages 11 to 17 will be called Scouts BSA and it will be available to both boys and girls. The parent organization will still be called the Boy Scouts of America.
Previously, girls could join the Exploring, Venturing and Sea Scout programs, but not the better known Boy Scouts program.
Under the new system, girls will have the same opportunities as boys to pursue merit badges, camping and the path to the rank of Eagle Scout.
However, troops will remain single gender. New all-girl troops across the First Coast are in the formation stage.
"We're working on starting 14 new troops across our 17 county area. And we've got about 30 charter partners that have shown interest so there might be more than those 14," said Patrick Linfors, who is the Director of Field Service/COO of the North Florida Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
Prospective youth ages 11 to 17 are invited to the February co-ed campout. They can be current members of a Cub Scout Pack or Troop or be new to Scouting. Any current Arrow of Light Cub Scout who would like to learn more about the next step in Scouting is also invited to the campout.
More information about the campout and requirements for the Scouts BSA Kickoff Campout are available on the North Florida Council Scouts BSA website.
The Cub Scouts began integrating girls last year.
"We're serving over 800 girls in our Cub Scout program. We're in the top 10 in the southern region," said Linfors.
Linfors stressed that although girls are being welcomed to Boy Scouting, the program remains the same.
Troop campouts will remain same-sex, although some multi-troop campouts, such as Camporee, will be co-ed at field events. Scouts spokeswoman Kelly White also pointed out boys and girls will not be tenting together.
The Scouting Handbook will remain largely the same, however there will be a few tweaks to reflect the new co-ed nature of the program. There will be two versions, one for boys and one for girls. The differences will be in the two will be the pronouns and photos, according to White.
The uniforms that Scouts wear will remain largely unchanged but again, with a few variations for girls. "The uniform will be the same in terms of look but there will be cuts for girls, you know, sizing for girls with the uniform shirt and the green pants at the Cub Scout level at the elementary school level, which we launched last fall for the full family, boys and girls. There is a skirt but yet it's a very similar uniform," said Linfors.
Girls in Cub Scouting also have a choice between a skirt or blue plants, according to White.
Here is a partial list of the new all-girl Troops that will be launching within a 20 mile radius of downtown Jacksonville:
Troop 9465 Ortega United Methodist Church
New Girls Only Troop starting February 1, 2019. Contact Sean Deese for info or to register at 904-294-2640 or sean.deese@navy.mil.
Troop 9437 Cedar Creek Baptist Church
Girls only Troop starting February 1, 2019. Contact Holly Brown at hollybrownrn@yahoo or Rafael Blanco at rafaelblanco@ccbaptist.org.
Troop 9542 Oak Hill Church of the Nazarene
New All Girl Scouts BSA Troop starting February 1, 2019. Contact Susan Siegel for info or to register email spayers64@yahoo.com.
Troop 9837 Eastside Community Church
All Girls Troop Starting February 1. Contact Nicole Richardson for info or to register: email richarni1625@yahoo.com.
Troop 9473 St Josephs Catholic Church
This Troop will start meeting and accepting girls on February 1, 2019. The unit leader to contact is: Wade Hebert 904-874-8637, abearfl@gmail.com.
Troop 9892 Crossroad Lutheran Church
Girl Troop starting February 1. Contact Jon Jaeger for information or to register via email at jonejaeger@gmail.com or call 904-910-1632
Troop 9291 Ponte Vedra United Methodist Church
Girls Only Troop starting February 1, 2019. Contact Elaine mitchell at elainemitchell426@gmail.com for information or to register.
For a full list of Troops across the First Coast for boys and for girls, potential Scouts can go to go to beascout.org. Boys can put in their zip code and select "Boy Scouts," to see a full list of area Troops and Girls can select “Scouts BSA” to see a full list of all-girl Troops being formed.
While girls are being welcomed, the Scouting ideals remain the same.
"Look, the Scout Oath and Scout Law: trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent; we believe is good for every youth in America. And we know that our merit badge program will give our boys and girls a competitive edge in the future. So we've got a program that's going to benefit the full family and we're excited about it," Linfors said.
Bill Bortzfield can be reached at bbortzfield@wjct.org, 904-358-6349 or on Twitter at @BortzInJax.
