Venturing: plan your own adventures

What a crew is

Venturing is Scouting America's program for young adults, generally 14 through 20 (or 13 if you've finished eighth grade). You join a crew, and the crew decides what it does. Some crews backpack and climb. Others sail, scuba dive, race robots, run community service, explore careers, or do a bit of everything. The one constant is that Venturers plan and lead it themselves.

Every crew has an adult Advisor and other registered adults who coach, approve plans, and handle the things adults are responsible for, like safety and transportation. But elected youth officers run the meetings, build the calendar, and make most of the decisions. If you've ever wished you could just pick the adventure and go, this is that.

The four ranks

Venturing ranks build on each other. Each one asks you to do more adventures, take on more leadership, serve more, and think harder about who you are becoming.

• Venturing: the joining rank. Take part in a crew activity, meet with your crew president and Advisor, complete Personal Safety Awareness training, and join an induction ceremony.
• Discovery: go on bigger adventures, take CPR and first aid, complete leadership and officer training, serve 24 hours, and set a personal goal tied to a reflection on faith, self, or others.
• Pathfinder: plan and lead a multi-night adventure with a mentor, serve as an officer or attend a leadership course, lead a project that helps your crew grow, and serve 36 more hours.
• Summit: mentor another Venturer, plan and lead a service project for an organization outside Scouting, and write your own personal code of conduct.

The Ranger, Quest, and TRUST awards go deep on outdoor skills, sports and fitness, and faith and culture. They're optional, and they're a great way to give your crew's activities a focus.

Being an officer

Crews elect officers, usually a president, one or more vice presidents (often for administration and for program), a secretary, and a treasurer. The president runs meetings and works closely with the Advisor. The program vice president keeps the activity calendar moving. The secretary keeps records and communication going, and the treasurer tracks money and the budget.

Officer work is real leadership: you'll run a meeting where people disagree, chase down answers, and keep a plan on schedule. It counts toward Pathfinder and Summit, and it's the kind of experience you can talk about in a job or college interview.

Planning an adventure

Venturing sorts adventures into tiers by how much planning and challenge they take. Your ranks ask for the bigger Tier II and Tier III ones, and Pathfinder asks you to plan and lead a trip of two nights or more. Here's how a plan comes together, whether it's a weekend climbing trip or a week on the water.

1. 1

   Pitch it

   Bring a specific idea to the crew: where, when, roughly what it costs, and why it's worth doing. Let the crew vote.

2. 2

   Build a team and a timeline

   Split the work: one person on transportation and permits, one on food, one on gear, one on the budget. Set check-in dates leading up to the trip.

3. 3

   Plan for safety

   Work with your Advisor on the training and supervision the activity needs, such as Climb On Safely for climbing or Safety Afloat for boating. Every outing needs at least two registered adults, and Safeguarding Youth rules apply the whole time.

4. 4

   Run it

   Hold a short briefing before you leave, check in with your team during the trip, and adjust when things change, because they will.

5. 5

   Close with a reflection

   Sit down as a crew afterward. Pathfinder asks you to lead one. Talk about what went well, what didn't, and what you'd change, and write it down for the next planner.

The national high-adventure bases

Scouting America runs four national high-adventure bases. Crews, and older Scouts in troops, can go on treks that take a year or more to plan and save for. Ask your Advisor early, since spots fill up and fundraising takes time.

• Philmont Scout Ranch (opens in a new tab) — Backpacking treks through the mountains of northern New Mexico.
• Northern Tier (opens in a new tab) — Canoe trips through the lakes and forests of northern Minnesota and Canada.
• Florida Sea Base (opens in a new tab) — Sailing, snorkeling, scuba, and island adventures in the Florida Keys.
• Summit Bechtel Reserve (opens in a new tab) — Whitewater, climbing, mountain biking, and more in West Virginia.
• Venturing awards and advancement (opens in a new tab) — Scouting America's official rank and award information for Venturers.

What to do next

If you're new, ask your crew president what it takes to earn the Venturing rank and finish it this month. If you're already in, pick the next rank, read its requirements in the guide, and set up an Advisor conference to talk about your plan. Then pitch one adventure you actually want to do.