Common Scout Jargon

General

Scout: any member (also member of the 11-14 section)
Scouter: Adult member (minimum age 18)
Scouter-in-Training: Leader aged 16-18
[Junior] Activity Leader: Leader aged 14-16
Section: one of the 5 age groups
Section Scouter/Leader: Scouter in charge of a section
Group: an administrative unit of one or more sections (ex. 1st Whitby, 2nd Whitby, etc.)
Group Committee: administers business of the group
Sponsor/Partner: organization who holds the charter from Scouts Canada for a group
Sea Scouts, Sea Venturers, Sea Rovers: follow the regular program, but emphasize water activities
Chaplain: works with a group to ensure members' spiritual needs are met

Sections:

Beavers (age 6-8), Cubs (8-10), Scouts (11-14 [16]), Venturers (14-17), Rovers (18-26)

Beavers

Colour: brown
Opening ceremony: Tail Slap
Typical leader nicknames: Bubbles, Rainbow (characters from Friends of the Forest)
Cub who helps as a leader: Keeo
Ceremony to graduate to Cubs: swim-up, swimming up
District camp (usually not overnight): Log Jam (Beaveree in some districts)
White Tail: Beaver in his/her final year (white is the final tail level)
White Tail Slap: district activity to introduce "White Tails" to Cubbing
Group name: colony, sub-group: lodge
Group formation: riverbanks (two lines)

Wolf Cubs (Cubs)

Colour: yellow
Opening ceremony: The Grand Howl ("Akela, we'll do our best," etc.)
Typical leader nicknames: Akela (main leader), Baloo, Bagheera, Raksha, Hathi, etc. (characters from The Jungle Book)
Scout who helps as a leader: Kim
Old Wolves: any adult
Ceremony to graduate to Scouts: going up
District Camp: Cuboree
Group name: pack, sub-group: six (Cubs who lead the six: Sixer, Second)
Group formation: rock circle (shoulder-to-shoulder), parade circle (one step back)
Call to circle: "Pack! Pack! Pack!"

Scouts

Colour: green
Multi-group camp: camporee, jamboree
Group name: troop, sub-group: patrol (Scouts who lead the patrol: patrol leader, seconder)
Group formation: horseshoe
Top award: Chief Scout's award

Venturers

Colour: light blue
Adults are: Venturer Advisors
Group name: company
(Venturers who lead the company: executive (typically: president, secretary, treasurer, etc.)
Top award: Queen's Venturer Award
Regular meeting of Venturer companies in an area: square table

Rovers

Colour: red
Adults are: Rover Advisors
Typical leader nickname: Skip, Skipper
Group name: crew
Rovers who lead the crew (executive) (traditional names listed first): Regular meeting of Rover crews in an area: roundtable (can be regional, provincial)
Multi-group camp: moot

District, Regional, Provincial, National, World Regions, World

At most of these levels are:
Commissioner: program person in charge
Assistant Commissioner: helps the Commissioner (in districts, one is in charge of each section)
Service Team: people who help the commissioner (including ADCs, ARCs, etc.)
Service Scouters: one member of the Service Team is appointed to service each section in the district (these are experienced leaders who can help out with advice), and visit the various meetings on a periodic basis

Uniform jargon:

Neckerchief, necker (sometimes called scarf, but this term is often discouraged): rolled or folded and worn around the neck, usually colour-coded as to group
Woggle, neckerchief slide: holds the neckerchief
Turk's Head Woggle: braided leather, given on completion of Wood Badge part I leader training (1 weekend or on evenings)
Wood Badge: two wooden beads on a leather lace, presented on completion of a part II leader training course (1-week or 3 weekends)
Epaulette: worn on the top of the shoulder, colour-coded for each section
JOTA: Jamboree-on-the-Air (international ham radio event, every year in October)
JOTI: Jamboree-on-the-Internet (held same time as JOTA)
JOTT: Jamboree-on-the-Trail (first held in 1998)
KubKars: Cub race of small cars made from a block of wood (in the U.S. and formerly in Whitby called Pinewood Derby)
18 Wheelers: truck racing for Scouts similar to KubKars
Sixers' Pow-wow: district camp for Cub sixers and older Cubs
Brotherhood Camp: describes a camp with Scouts of two countries, such as Canada and the U.S.
Church parade: church service designated for Scouts to attend as a group, sometimes also with the church's regular congregation, Scouts normally parade up the aisle with the colours
Colours: flags, carried by the Colour Party
Cubs' Own, Scouts' Own: short interfaith religious service typically held at camp
Scout-Guide Week: held each year the week of Feb. 22 (B.-P.'s birthday)
Thinking Day: Feb. 22 celebrated by Girl Guides worldwide
Chief Scout of Canada: honorary position held by the Governor-General
Chief Scout's Award: highest award in the Scout section, recipients are called Pathfinder Scouts
Scout Shop: store that sells Scout uniforms, books, and supplies
Gilwell Park: International [leader] Training Centre in London, England
Gilwellians: people who have completed Wood Badge Training
Gilwell Reunion: Reunion weekend of Wood Badge holders held every September at Gilwell Park in England, also similar gatherings held in other places such as the provincial training camp outside Acton, Ontario


Version 1, Nov. 14/98
Send comments about this page to Neil Wick at webmaster@whitbyscouts.org.

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