What Counts as Activities and Service Hours for Ranks and Merit Badges with Troop 64

1.       Purpose of this Document

There are often questions about what events count as activities for Second and First Class requirements. The goal of these requirements is to get newer Scouts involved in a variety of Boy Scout activities. There have also been questions about the counting of service hours.

2.       Relevant Requirements from 2010 Boy Scout Requirements

• Second Class Requirement 3a: Since joining, have participated in five separate troop/patrol activities (other than troop/patrol meetings), two of which included camping overnight.
• First Class Requirement 3: Since joining, have participated in 10 separate troop/patrol activities (other than troop/patrol meetings), three of which included camping overnight. …
• Citizenship in the Community merit badge Requirement 7c: ….While working on this merit badge, volunteer at least eight hours of your time for the organization….
• Camping merit badge Requirement 9c: Perform a conservation project approved by the landowner or land managing agency.

3.       What Counts and What Does Not Count

In general, activities with other Boy Scouts that take at least two hours, and are not regular meeting or Courts of Honor, do count, with limitations for “lighter” activities. Service hours cannot be counted toward two different badges. Service projects done with other Boy Scouts can be counted for both service hours and for activities. Camping can be counted for Second and First Class activities and camping nights, as well as camping nights for Camping merit badge.

3.1       Examples of What Counts for Second Class and First Class Activities

• Campouts with the troop or patrol
• Hikes, bike rides, and geocaching with the troop or patrol
• Service projects with other Boy Scouts and open to the whole patrol or troop
• Eagle projects (maximum of two activities for one project on two different days)
• Selling Christmas trees with Kiwanis (maximum of two activities on two different days)
• Doing an extra, optional Boy Scout activity on a trip, which by itself would be counted as an activity (e.g., adding rappelling and spelunking in Moaning Cavern at the end of a snow-camping trip; going for a five-mile hike from summer camp)
• Working on a conservation project for Camping MB with other Boy Scouts
• Eagle Courts of Honor (maximum of two count)
• Merit Badge Midway, Science Merit Badge Midway, Collections Merit Badge Midway
• Scout-O-Rama
• Sea Scout cruises (maximum of two count)
• Troop or patrol meetings
• Regular merit badge meetings
• Regular Courts of Honor
• Service hours not with other Boy Scouts

3.2       Examples of What Does Not Count for Second Class and First Class Activities

3.3       Service Hours

Service hours for the Second Class (1 hour), Star (6 hours), and Life (6 hours) rank badges, and for Citizenship in the Community (8 hours), Camping, and other merit badges, count for only one of these badges; double-counting of service hours is not permitted. In Troop 64, Scouts normally complete far more service than the one hour required for Second Class. To get broader exposure, some service hours beyond selling Kiwanis Christmas trees should be done for Star and Life.