Author: Scouting magazine

Any great organization constantly tweaks and adapts its requirements to better reach its members, and the Boy Scouts of America is no exception.

To that end, the BSA announced this week which requirements will change in 2011.

One big item is actually more of a clarification than a complete change. It affects the requirements for the Eagle Scout rank. Here's what it says:

"The 2009 printing of the Boy Scout Handbook inadvertently included bugler as a position of responsibility under Eagle Scout requirement 4; it is not. … The corrected Eagle Scout requirement 4 will appear in the next printing of the Boy Scout Handbook."

That paragraph is consistent with an Ask the Expert question we fielded back in March of 2010. As we told you then, Bugler is not an official position of responsibility for Eagle Scout, but it is O.K. to use with Life or Star ranks.

Another change affects requirement 6 of the Life rank. Add subpoint G as a seventh option for Scouts teaching the EDGE method to another Scout. The new option reads: "Three requirements from one of the Eagle-required merit badges, as approved by your unit leader."

The other 2011 requirement changes affect merit badges: 

• Requirements for Astronomy, Horsemanship, and Nuclear Science merit badges have been revised. (Click each link for the new requirements)
• Minor updates will be made to the requirements for Archery and Sports merit badges. (Click each link to see the revisions)
• Three new merit badges that were added in 2010 will be added to the 2011 Boy Scout Requirements Book: Geocaching, Inventing, and Scouting Heritage.

Keep in mind, though, that a Scout who has started working on a merit badge when a new pamphlet or requirements come out may continue working from the original requirements. He need not start the merit badge over.

We'll give you the specific requirement changes for those merit badges as soon as we have them, so stay tuned.

We're fickle about snow. We want less of it in our driveways and more of it at our favorite ski resorts.

But when it comes to snow-related activities, the BSA Health and Safety team's stance doesn't waver: enjoy it, but do so responsibly.

As unit leaders, it's primarily your job to enforce safety in winter sports, but you're not alone in this effort—the BSA has materials to help prepare you.

The simplest step is ensuring that your Scouts wear proper safety equipment. That means helmets, which are recommended for sledding and sliding and required for skiing and snowboarding. Snowmobile users must wear helmets that have a full face shield.

The Health and Safety team has published a list of safety guidelines for sledding, which you can access here. And the guidelines set forth in the Sweet 16 of BSA Safety are applicable in all four seasons, so it would be a great idea to review those, as well.

The Guide to Safe Scouting's section on winter activities includes great info on the importance of leadership, equipment, and physical condition for cold-weather camping.

Winter sports can be a fun way to get your guys outside when temperatures drop, but only after you and your youth leaders have reviewed proper safety procedures.