Frequently Asked Questions

Wood Badge is advanced leadership training for all adult Scouting leaders.  It is an advanced, intense, experiential course on small-group leadership. There are presentations, team building activities and games – and the games are all with a purpose. The course, and working your ticket afterwards, will help you make your Scouting unit stronger, and will also help you in your work, church, family, and everywhere else.

Wood Badge is *not* Troop leader training or just another position-specific how-to training— Wood Badge is designed for ALL Scouting roles and leaders including Cub, Scout, Varsity, and Venturing–it includes all parts of the Scouting family.  The course will help you better understand how all the Scouting programs tie together. It will provide you with useful leadership tools to help enable our youth to have the best possible Scouting experience.  There is no better time than now to attend your Wood Badge course and become more prepared to make a difference in your home unit…

Any BSA Registered Adult from any Council that has completed basic position-specific training for their role and is capable of functioning safely in an outdoor environment may attend Wood Badge.

Specifically, individuals participating in Wood Badge must:

• Be registered members of the Boy Scouts of America. (Youth 18 and older may attend as long as the appropriate Youth Protection guidelines are followed. They do not need to be registered in an adult leadership role.)
• Have completed the basic training courses for their Scouting position.
• Be capable of functioning safely in an outdoor environment. All participants are required to complete the Annual Health and Medical Record form Parts A, B and C.

Wood Badge is advanced training focused on Leadership for Scouting.  It will help you grow beyond the just the practical, position-specific training you have completed for your role in Scouting.  Most attendees say Wood Badge had positive impacts in their lives beyond just Scouting.  And perhaps the most important reason…our kids deserve it–they deserve you to be the best that you can be.

Some of the benefits of Wood Badge:

• Stronger units. You will make the Scouting unit you serve — and your sons’ and daughters’ units — stronger.
• What and why of Scouting. You will have a deeper understanding of what Scouting is and why we do it.
• Experience. You will learn and experience things that will stay with you in Scouting and the rest of your life.
• Fun. You will have fun and you will meet interesting people.
• Strengthen other team and groups. You will make your other groups, like work, church, even family, stronger.

Every Scouting role can now complete basic position-training online at My.Scouting.org—except Scoutmasters & Assistant Scoutmasters only who must also complete outdoor leader skills training. Wood Badge is open to all Scouting roles and there is no tenure requirement to attend Wood Badge.

If you want to review what training is required for each Role to be considered ‘position-trained’, visit https://www.scouting.org/training/adult/.

And if you have not already done so, create an account at My.Scouting.org to learn more and get started.

Wood Badge Course S5-551-21 is hosted by Palmetto & Blue Ridge Councils and it will be held at Camp Old Indian in Travelers Rest, SC.   Camp Old Indian is a fully-accredited, highly-regarded BSA Camp with excellent facilities in a beautiful mountain setting.

Palmetto & Blue Ridge Councils have delivered multiple Wood Badge course successfully at Camp Old Indian in the past

The newest version of Wood Badge adopts a five-day format.  The Fall 2021 course will be divided into two weekends:

Your first Wood Badge weekend will begin on Friday, September 24 at 8 AM.  You will need to arrive at Camp Bud Schiele by 7:30 AM on Friday morning–Friday is a course full day so you will need Friday off from work.   The first weekend will conclude on Sunday, September 26 at approximately 5 PM for participants to return home.

Wood Badge will reconvene for the second weekend on Saturday morning, November 16 at 8 AM and the course will close on Sunday afternoon, November 17 at approximately 4 PM.

You just must have completed Youth Protection training and the Basic Training course for your current Scouting position.  Every role in Scouting except Scoutmasters and Assistant Scoutmasters can now complete their training completely online.

In addition to online training, Scoutmasters and Assistant Scoutmasters should also have completed the Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills as this is required to be trained for your position.

However, there is no tenure or experience requirement and no special circumstances or invitation required to attend Wood Badge.  Every Scouter in any Scouting role should complete Wood Badge training.  Just complete YPT and Position-Specific training and sign up!

All meals are provided as part of your course fee. A great menu is planned for the course; completely prepared meals or meal ingredients are provided to your team. Your patrol will have the opportunity to prepare a few meals towards the end of the course.

If you need a special diet, just let us know as soon as possible using the Personal Resource Questionnaire that will be sent to you several months before the course. We will work with you to meet health or religious based dietary needs.

You will need an Annual Health and Medical Record form, including parts A, B, & C (requires Doctor’s signature) completed within one year of the last day of the course. You may download the form here.

If you have special medical considerations, simply make the Course Director and Troop Medical Officer aware of any medical conditions or accommodations needed–in advance during course communications and at check-in.

A personal equipment list will be provided to you to help you prepare. Experience has shown you should need little to no personal gear you do not already own or could borrow regardless of your experience level in Scouting.  And you will have an opportunity to collaborate with others in the course for gear that you may need as a group for camping during the second weekend.

You will need to wear the full BSA Field Uniform for your current position in Scouting. The field uniform consists of a Scout shirt with proper patches, Scout pants or shorts, Scout belt, and Scout socks. A course shirt and hat will be provided, additional shirts or fleeces may be ordered at a future date if you would like purchase.

Course fees are set to meet the costs of the course while providing the best training environment for participants.  The course fee for S5-551-21 course will be provided when budget is complete..typically Wood Badge costs $200 to $250 per person.

An initial deposit of at least $49 is required for all participants to secure a spot in the course.

Yes.  Payment is accepted at any point from registration or after.

• Payment in full is accepted at any point from registration or after.
• After your initial reservation deposit of $49, additional payments can be made online anytime.
• Staff will send notice of payments due on a regular cycle until paid in full.
• All fees must be paid in full no later than September 1, 2020.
• The best way to manage the course fee is to register early and make regular payments until the fee is paid in full.