A new group for Boy Scouts to exclude

[pumpkinpi]

Obese Boy Scouts left out of national gathering

[The Supreme Canuck]

Gee, seems to me that spending time outdoors doing Scouting stuff is a good way for a kid to lose weight. Hm. Guess I'm just an idiot.

Honestly, the BSA are raging assholes. Well, the people in charge, at least.

[FZR1KG]

Not sure I see a problem here.
Previously they had to get a doctors examination to enter, now they ALSO need to be below a certain BMI.
If there is an extreme fitness event its the organisers responsibility to exclude those that may have a health risk in attending it.
Its not like they are excluding all overweight people from all events.
Its one event that has gruelling physical requirements.

People die regularly from pushing their bodies too far.
What's wrong with trying to minimise the risk.

[pumpkinpi]

There is more to do than just "high adventure" activities.

Over 10 days, there are exhibits, stadium shows with entertainment, opportunities to work on merit badges — there's something for everybody.
High adventure like you've never seen. Whitewater, climbing, zip lines, mountain biking, and much, much more. (Not to mention all of the things you've grown to love about the jamboree: patch trading, SCUBA, stadium shows, Technology Quest ... who could ask for more?)

[FZR1KG]

Are the high adventure activities mandatory for attendance?
If they are I can't see a problem.
If they aren't then yeah, this is dumb.

[pumpkinpi]

I wondered that too, and I couldn't find an answer during a quick lookover the various pages on the jamboree site.

Maybe they think that there are so many more physical than non-physical activities that someone who couldn't participate in them would be sitting out for much of the jamboree with no other options.

Still doesn't excuse them, though. Design an event that is accessible. In fact, it is.

"Will handicapped Scouts be able to attend the jamboree?
Handicapped Scouts have always been able to attend BSA jamborees. They are absolutely welcome and encouraged to submit an application for attendance."

If they can attend there has to be alternate activities for them.

[FZR1KG]

Good point.
This sounds dumb.

[Rommie]

I alas know the mentality of what likely brought this about all too well.

Fun fact, when I was in Hungarian Scouts one of the non-negotiable activities we did on our ten days there was always an all-day hike where they'd tell you to go somewhere with your platoon (ie group of ~6 people you shared the tent with) over the back roads of upstate NY. We were always pissed as girls because the boys would always hitchhike instead of walking, but of course no group of 10-17 year old girls would do such a thing. It'd be an "age appropriate" distance, so the 10 year olds would only do a few miles and by the time you hit 17 you were probably doing eight hours a day, 20 miles somewhere and then maybe half that the next morning after sleeping under a tarp.

I always thought it was fucking stupid and hated it, but apparently some people love it. Whatever. The point is I was never good at this due to having a low BMI to the point of new doctors always asking me about my eating habits as a teen, but at 17 it was a hot day and we only had our water canteens refilled once. So that night I had to go to the hospital and get two saline bags into me cause I was so dehydrated.

I mention all this because after that the camp folks in charge decided it was my fault because I didn't take care of myself, and dehydration takes days according to them. So fuck the Scouts, different organization but I'm well used to how those in charge in groups like that tend to be stupid ones who love the hierarchy and obsess over stupid details like how your shirt's tucked in instead of the safety of the kids in their charge. So hey let's not try to encourage the weaker kids into healthy habits and an experience they can enjoy for a lifetime, let's just tell them it's their fault that we don't want to deal with them.

[Swift]

I mention all this because after that the camp folks in charge decided it was my fault because I didn't take care of myself, and dehydration takes days according to them. So fuck the Scouts, different organization but I'm well used to how those in charge in groups like that tend to be stupid ones who love the hierarchy and obsess over stupid details like how your shirt's tucked in instead of the safety of the kids in their charge. So hey let's not try to encourage the weaker kids into healthy habits and an experience they can enjoy for a lifetime, let's just tell them it's their fault that we don't want to deal with them.

As a one time medical professional, a trained Red Cross First Aider, and as a husband with a wife who is always on the cusp of dehydration (because of her medical issues), I can tell you that your camp folks don't know what the fuck they are talking about. Dehydration can happen very quickly, particularly in hot weather and with heavy activity (like hiking). 30 to 60 minutes is plenty of time.

The more I hear about Scouts, the more glad I am that I never did it.

[Rebis]

Gee, seems to me that spending time outdoors doing Scouting stuff is a good way for a kid to lose weight. Hm. Guess I'm just an idiot.

Yeah, my thoughts exactly!

Guess some folks always have to find others to look down their noses at.

[FZR1KG]

I can tell you that your camp folks don't know what the fuck they are talking about. Dehydration can happen very quickly, particularly in hot weather and with heavy activity (like hiking). 30 to 60 minutes is plenty of time.

So true.
It also depends on how hydrated your are to begin with.
Many people are on the edge just doing their normal routine.
It happens to me pretty regularly so I have to constantly remind myself to drink.

[gethen]

As the mother of an Eagle Scout, with the pin to prove it, I just want to say that scouting has really gone off the rails if this is the kind of thing they're worrying about now. Scout camps have always been about leadership activities, outdoor skills, and having fun with the other guys. Sure, obese kids will be more limited in the activities they can enjoy, but they're outside and active and there are lots of things at the camps to enjoy that do not involve life-threatening activities. The national scout organization screwed up seriously when they sought to exclude gays scouts and leaders. This is just another black eye for them.

[FZR1KG]

Boy scouts of america, brought to you by McDonalds and Burger King. Uniting the youth of today for a bigger future tomorrow.

[Rommie]

I mention all this because after that the camp folks in charge decided it was my fault because I didn't take care of myself, and dehydration takes days according to them. So fuck the Scouts, different organization but I'm well used to how those in charge in groups like that tend to be stupid ones who love the hierarchy and obsess over stupid details like how your shirt's tucked in instead of the safety of the kids in their charge. So hey let's not try to encourage the weaker kids into healthy habits and an experience they can enjoy for a lifetime, let's just tell them it's their fault that we don't want to deal with them.

As a one time medical professional, a trained Red Cross First Aider, and as a husband with a wife who is always on the cusp of dehydration (because of her medical issues), I can tell you that your camp folks don't know what the fuck they are talking about. Dehydration can happen very quickly, particularly in hot weather and with heavy activity (like hiking). 30 to 60 minutes is plenty of time.

The more I hear about Scouts, the more glad I am that I never did it.

Thanks- whenever I've told that story since every medical professional I've ever talked to had a "WTF?" reaction, which is good for 17-year-old Rommie to know. As I said, they were really trying to cover their asses more than anything (they also wanted to have me fail the certification that camp offered, part cause of that and part cause I had the gall to admit I was an atheist...). Thing is I remember we had a doctor and nurse at the camp (as in, there were like six different sub-camps for different ages) and I hung out with them the year prior a lot since my camp was right next door to them, and they were beyond pissed off since they often had to deal with injuries to Scouts that more-or-less translated into negligence (as in, the organization always tried to make it sound like run-of-the-mill-camp-injuries, in actuality there were quite a few that shouldn't have happened).

Mind this was not BSA or GSA, this was a Hungarian organization, but I think you often get these kinds of things in military-esque organizations when it comes to who sticks around and loves the hierarchy etc. So it's funny cause thinking back on it I had the best camp year of my life at 16 followed by the worst at 17... the difference was, now that I think about it, I was in charge of 7 kids with only one adult the "fun" year so it was a lot more chilling instead of making things jam-packed for the sake of busywork, and no one gave a crap if I decided to sleep that night out in the meadow or stay up late for the Perseid meteor shower. Bring in the "we are training an army to take back the lost territories" crowd though (I swear to god they exist in Hungarian Scouts) and it sucks.