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BSA
Announces the SCUBA Merit Badge
The Boy Scouts of America is pleased to
announce the release of the Scuba Diving merit badge. The official earn date of
this merit badge is December 1, 2010. Pamphlets are in the NDC and available for
local council service center and scoutstuff.org orders - just in time for
Christmas!
The first new merit badge
in over three years, Scuba Diving reflects the new direction of BSA to develop
merit badges based on youth/Scout input to assure relevance and excitement
around the merit badge offering. This merit badge, developed in association with
PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors), leverages our spirit of
outdoor adventure and expands our aquatics offering. More than 84 percent of
Scouts surveyed were interested in the merit badge and recommended that BSA
adopt it.
Key facts you need to know
about the merit badge are as follows:
-
Completing the Scuba Diving merit badge will result in the boy achieving an
open water certification
enabling him to dive around the world with the appropriate supervision, based
on his age.
- There
are two important roles for this merit badge - the merit badge counselor and a
certified dive instructor.
-
Sometimes this may be the same person.
- More
likely, the counselor will be an existing BSA adult member.
- Always
the instructor will be one certified by one of a number of instructional
agencies.
- The
instructor does NOT have to be a BSA member.
-
Earning the Scuba Diving merit badge is open to all Boy Scout-age youth.
There are, however, limitations based on age with respect to how deep and with
whom a boy can dive. These limitations vary by certifying organization.
-
Completion of the Swimming merit badge is a requirement of the merit badge
and must be completed prior to entering into scuba training portion of the
requirements.
- Boys
with a current open water certification will NOT have to recertify
in order to earn the merit badge. They will, however, have to have completed
the Swimming merit badge, present their certification to the merit badge
counselor and complete all the other requirements.
- There
are three important pieces of information which must be fully reviewed by the
merit badge counselor prior to approving any Scout for the merit badge: the
merit badge requirements, the notes to counselor and the scuba policy of the
Guide to Safe Scouting.
Here is
a printable PDF file announcing the merit badge,
showcasing the cover, and outlining the notes to counselor and requirements. The
Guide to Safe Scouting is available at
http://www.scouting.org/healthandsafety/gss.aspx.
Have fun and dive safe! |