Improved Webelos Transition - Boy Scout Troop

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It should be the goal of the Cubmaster and Webelos den leaders to graduate every Webelos Scout into a Boy Scout troop. The key to accomplishing this is to begin promoting Boy Scouting when Cub Scouts are still in their Tiger, Wolf, and Bear dens, and to sell the sizzle of the great outdoors. Scouting should be viewed as an ongoing adventure, and the progression should be as normal as moving from elementary school to middle school.

There are a number of ways a pack and troop can work together together

1. Develop a working relationship with the leadership of a Boy Scout troop or troops in the community. Most troops should have either an assistant Scoutmaster or a committee member assigned to new Scouts. Your unit commissioner can help put you in contact with troop leaders.
2. Compare calendars of troop and pack activities to coordinate activities. Community events can be done together, and planning can help prevent conflicts in use of equipment and facilities.
3. Work with troop leaders to secure den chiefs for each Webelos den and Cub Scout den.
4. Work with troop leaders to plan and conduct Webelos overnight activities.
5. Work with troop leaders to plan visits to troop meetings. Never show up without first calling in advance.
6. Invite the Scoutmaster and troop youth leaders to special pack activities. This will help create familiarity and a level of comfort for the Webelos Scouts and their parents as they ease into the troop.
7. Plan a meaningful crossover ceremony at the pack's blue and gold banquet. Include troop leadership to be present to accept the Webelos Scouts as they graduate to Boy Scouting. The local Order of the Arrow lodge can often be a valuable resource in conducting ceremonies.
8. Webelos leaders should be strongly encouraged to move into the troop with the boys, either as assistant Scoutmasters or troop committee members. This will give the new Scouts a familiar face at troop meetings and a connecting link to Boy Scouting.
9. If a troop does not exist in your community, discuss with the head of the pack's chartered organization the possibility of organizing a troop. A graduating Webelos den can form the nucleus of a new troop.