Venturing Advancement and Awards

Venturing is a youth development program of the Boy Scouts of America for young men and women who are 14 years of age or 13 years of age and have completed the eighth grade and under 21 years of age. Venturing's purpose is to provide positive experiences to help young people mature and to prepare them to become responsible and caring adults.

A Venturer who has achieved the First Class rank in a troop may continue working toward the Eagle Scout rank as a Venturer until their 18th birthday. There is no alternate Venturing advancement route to qualify for the Eagle Scout rank. The Venturer requirements for rank advancement towards Eagle Scout are the same as for Scouts BSA. The Venturer may fulfill leadership requirements by serving as president, vice-president, secretary, or treasurer of the crew.  The Scoutmaster conference will be conducted by the crew advisor. As a Venturer meets the requirements for Star and Life ranks, a board of review is conducted by the crew committee. The Eagle Scout board of review follows the procedure established by the district advancement committee.

Venturing Advancement
Venturing Resources

Venturing Advancement

  • Venturing Award: The first step in any journey is the courage to begin. At this level, the new crew member makes their commitment to join and move forward into the experience of Venturing. 
  • Discovery Award: The adventure of participating with the crew unfolds, and each Venturer begins to discover his or her interests and talents. As the Discovery Award recipients develop new skills and competencies, their eyes are opened and the world expands for them. 
  • Pathfinder Award: The Venturer’s capabilities and skills expand, and with them come increased responsibility for defining their own way forward in life, service to others and formal planning and leadership of the crew toward its goals. 
  • Summit Award: The highest award of Venturing, the Summit Award, goes to those Venturers who have matured in their personal direction, skills, and life competencies, and who have accepted the responsibility to mentor others and serve their communities in a lasting way.   
 

SHAC Summit Award Board of Review Process

After the council office has approved a Summit Award application, the next step is scheduling a board of review. There is a process that needs to be followed and the steps are outlined below.

  1. Contact the council Summit Award board of review coordinator. This is a volunteer who has been charged with coordinating summit boards of review, ensuring that the national standards are met as well as the proper process followed. 
  2. After discussing preferred timing, location, etc. the council Summit Award board of review coordinator will contact someone from the approved list to serve as the council representative and chair of the board of review. The Sam Houston Area Council has not delegated responsibility for Summit boards to the districts as it has with Eagle Scout board or review.
  3. The selected council representative will contact the appropriate youth in the crew and will work with the youth in setting up the board of review. For reference, consult the Guide to Advancement section 8.0.7.0 (Particulars for the Summit Award).

Special Opportunities for Venturers

Venturing Awards

Hiking Awards

Service, Conservation and Scoutcraft Emblems

Aquatic Emblems

Other Awards and Emblems

Contacts

For additional information, contact your district advancement chair or the council Venturing leadership.