ADVANCEMENT CEREMONIES

CIRCUS ADVANCEMENT CEREMONY

Utah National Parks Council

Cubmaster: (Dressed as ringmaster) Ladies and gentlemen, you are about to witness feats of daring-do never before witnessed by the human eye. Acts so astounding you will ooh and aah with amazement. Stupendous sights! Thrilling acts! Welcome to our circus!

For our first act tonight, we present our trained Bobcats and their fearless trainers, also known as parents. They will be in the center ring in a few moments and will perform for us, showing the amazing feats they have mastered. (Bobcats and parents come forward and the boys answer questions regarding the Bobcat requirements. Cubmaster awards the badges.)

Notice how well these Bobcats have been trained by their trainers. Let's have a cheer for this fine act which we have just witnessed with our very own eyes! (Lead appropriate applause.)

Ladies and gentlemen, now for our second colossal act of achievement this evening, we present a fine trained Wolf act. The Wolves in this act are as follows: (read boys' names if receiving Wolf badge or arrow points.) Here come these astounding Wolf Cubs and their trainers into the ring now! (Boys and parents come forward. Cubmaster goes through similar circus talk to introduce Bear award and arrow points. Lead appropriate applauses after each group.)

Now in our center ring, a most stupendous act, seldom seen by the human eye. A rare and mysterious animal, known as the Webelos! They are extremely smart, faster than a speeding den leader, and able to leap tall activity badges in a single bound! Introducing, the Webelos! (Call up Webelos who have earned activity badges, compass points and/or Webelos badge. Quiz the boys on what they learned to earn their award. Lead appropriate applause.)

Ladies and gentlemen, for our finale tonight, we have a stupendous act that requires much work and patience as these mysterious Webelos climb to great heights of fame and achievement. In fact, they have climbed to the very pinnacle of achievement as a Cub Scout. Let's all watch breathlessly as we now give special honor in a ceremony that will demonstrate to you what heights these boys have climbed with the help of their trainers. It is a privilege now to introduce you to the participants in this outstanding feat. (Call boys and parents forward. You could do a separate Arrow of Light Ceremony at this time. Lead appropriate applause when finished.)

Balloon Break Advancement

Longhorn Council

SETTING:

Set up the large rank advancement cards facing audience. Hide them from view by placing a large balloon in front of each card. Tape balloon to table to secure it.

Have a dart to break balloons.

HINT: Arrow points and other recognition's can be put in balloons before balloons are blown up.

CUBMASTER: To continue with thus festive occasions we have several young men who have worked hard to advance in rank. They have come to celebrate here tonight. (call Bobcat candidates and parents forward.)

These young men have started on their way in Scouting. They need to be congratulated on a job well done. (Have Bobcat break first balloon. Give his parents his patch and congratulation Cub and parents with handshake.)

(Call Wolf candidates and parents forward.) These young men have worked a little harder and a little longer to reach the rank of Wolf. They also need to be congratulated on a job well done. (Have Cub break balloon.  Give his parents his patch and congratulation Cub and parents with handshake.)

Now, in our evening of celebration, let us honor our Bear candidates. (Call them and parents forward.) To receive the rank of Bear the Cub Scout has to put forth much more effort. (Have Cub break balloon.  Give his parents his patch and congratulation Cub and parents with handshake.)

To complete our celebration, we need to honor our Webelos candidate. To achieve the rank of Webelos, our young man has entered a world of different requirements that are signed off by adults other than his own parents. This is a giant step for our boys to take. (Have Cub break balloon.  Give his parents his patch and congratulation Cub and parents with handshake.)

Balloon Welcome/Advancement

Longhorn Council

PREPARATION: 2 identical balloons with strings attached, 1 filled with helium and 1 blown up by mouth; awards/certificates; Cubmaster, new Cubs and parents. Cubmaster has balloons secured so that no one knows that one balloon is filled with helium. When he is ready to begin the ceremony, he holds the balloons by the necks.

CUBMASTER: (holding balloons) Would (name) and his parents please come forward. These balloons represent two of our local boys. Both come from great families and have good friends. Both go to school, they are both involved in sports programs in the community, they both attend church. (Add anything else that fits the lifestyle of the boys in your area.)

But there is a difference between these two boys. This boy (indicate the balloon without helium) is happy and he can keep being happy just doing the things he’s doing now. (Let the balloon without helium drop to the table or floor.) But this boy (indicate helium filled balloon) is (name) and he has found something extra. That extra something is Cub Scouting. With his parents and leaders helping, (name) will be able to soar to new heights (release balloon) just like this balloon.

We are excited to welcome (name) and his family to our pack. (If the new Cub has earned his Bobcat badge continue.) As is our custom, we will now present his Bobcat badge to his parents to honor them for the work that they have done in helping their son earn this badge and ask them to award it to their son. Congratulations on earning your Bobcat, which is only your first step as you soar higher and higher in Scouting. (Give the Cub Scout handshake.) 

GAMES ADVANCEMENT

Circle Ten Council

Note that this and other ceremonies should be reviewed and modified to suit the specific awards being giving at the meeting. This ceremony is written so that any particular award can be used or omitted without impacting the whole of the ceremony.  You might, also, want to break up the speaking parts amongst several different leaders.

Cubmaster: There are a lot of computer games on the market today, and while I was surfing the Internet the other day, I found a really good one that I want to share with you. It's called "Advancement."

Now unlike many of the games out there, this one doesn't have all the wiz-bang violence and high-speed flying and diving; it doesn't involve racking up billions of points on the scoreboard; and it can only be played by a very select group of people—Cub Scouts. This is a "game" that checks out your ability to "Do Your Best."

And as in any game, the player must first learn the rules of the game. In this program, the players start in any grade, from 2nd through 5th. They learn the rules, such as the Cub Scout Promise and the Law of the Pack; what the different signs and signals mean in the activity, like the handshake and Scout sign; and special phrases and messages used during play, like Webelos and "Do Your Best." Once they've learned these basic rules, they are ready to begin the game in earnest. And once the player has learned the rules, the computer places an icon on the screen that shows the player has completed the "rules" phase—the icon looks like this.

[Cubmaster holds up a Bobcat badge.] It looks like a Bobcat!

(BOBCAT)

As a matter of fact, I think we have some Cub Scouts here tonight who also found that program and have been studying the "rules" so that they are ready to join in.

[List names of Bobcat recipients and call them with their parents to the front of the room.]

As with any program, software or otherwise, we have to understand what we are getting ready to do and how we're supposed to do it before we get started. You guys have done that. Just to help remind the rest of the players, will join with me now in reciting the Cub Scout Promise?

[Hand parents the awards to present to the boys and congratulate them with the Cub Scout handshake.

To get to the first level, the player has to get through 12 achievements. And like in other computer games, the player has to "learn" how to do things to complete these achievements. In the first level, the achievements include everything from doing physical feats of skill to learning about the flag and holding a flag ceremony to learning make the right decision in unsafe situations. And once you've completed the 12 achievements, another icon is displayed [holds up Wolf badge]. This one looks like a Wolf.

(WOLF)

Among all of you computer wizards out there tonight, it turns out we have some who have reached this level of the program. [List names and invite them with their parents to come forward.] These players have spent a lot of time learning new skills and have reached the Wolf level. [Hand out badges to parents to give to the boys.

Once the program advances the players to the next level, the achievements become a little tougher and the players have to make some program choices to complete this level of the program. I guess the program uses "if… then" statements or something. Anyway, at this level, the players again try to complete 12 achievements, but in four different subject areas—God, Country, Family, and Self. Once they've completed 12, a new icon is displayed

[Hold up the Bear badge].

(BEAR)

Again, we've got some real program experts with us tonight who have completed these achievements. [List off Bear candidate names and invite them and their parents to the front of the room.] These Cub Scouts have mastered their level to get the Bear icon, but they are encouraged to keep working on this level until the program moves them up to the next level. [Hand parents the awards to present to the boys and congratulate them.}

The Advancement program is a little different than other programs. Because once you've gotten the Wolf icon, you still stay at that level until the program tells you it's time to begin working on the next level. But while you're working at the Wolf level, you still do other things and learn new skills. And as you do, the program gives you bonus icons [hold up arrow points]. An arrow point is awarded each time a boy completes ten electives; a gold arrow point for the first ten and a silver arrow point for each ten after that.

(ARROW POINTS)

[List off Arrow Point candidate names and invite them and their parents to the front of the room.] These players (in both the Wolf and Bear levels) have really mastered the program and are gaining a lot from it. Tonight we award them with the extra arrow points they've earned. [Hand parents the awards to present to the boys and congratulate them.

This Advancement program is really a pretty smart program. Whether or not a player gets the icon for a level, the program automatically advances the player to the next level when the player is ready to take on new challenges. For those who have advanced to the level above Bear, they begin to get ready for an even greater, more challenging program that they'll be able to enjoy in just a couple of levels later—it's called the Boy Scout Advancement program. So the players in the next level begin to "prep" for this Unlike the Wolf and Bear levels, this next level of play involves completing separate activities for which the program recognizes the player. These activities are more challenging than the Bear achievements, but then again, the players are ready for them too. While the player completes the activities, he also works on special challenges—part of the "prepping" I mentioned. This assures that the player will understand the rules and requirements of the program after this one. As the player completes activities, he gets a mini-icon [hold up Activity Badge pins] and when he has gotten certain mini-icons and completed the "prep" challenges, the program gives him yet another icon [hold up Webelos badge].

(WEBELOS)

With us tonight are some players who have done just that. They have worked the program to get several mini-icons (or Activity Badges) and some have even completed the prep challenges to get the Webelos icon. [List names and invite them with their parents and Webelos Den Leaders to come forward.]

[Hand parents the awards to present to the boys and congratulate them.]

So the program seems to go on and on. But really, there is a "finish" to the program, and some very hard-working players even reach the pinnacle (the top) of the program by going all out. These players have to "capture" other mini-icons and complete even more of the challenges in this level of the program. But when they have, the program awards them the top icon [hold up Arrow of Light Award]. It takes a lot of program skill and perseverance—sticking to it—just like with any other computer program. This icon is so special, that the players who get it carry it over into the next program, Boy Scout Advancement.

(ARROW OF LIGHT)

Tonight we recognize those players who have displayed their skills in the program, have worked hard to master the challenges of the "game" and have come out on top. [List names and invite them with their parents to come forward.] [Hand boys the parent's Arrow of Light pins to present to their parents. Then give parents the awards to present to the boys and congratulate them.]

One final word about this program. Anyone can play. And for the players who Do Their Best, they all come out winners!