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"Rover Scouting is a preparation for life, and also a pursuit for life." ( Baden-Powell , 1928). Fundamentally, Rovering is the service section of Scouting . It also provides enjoyable activities that develop individuals through personal development and meaningful service experiences. The objectives of Rover Scouts form the basis for all activities that can be undertaken individually or as part of a Rover Scout Crew. The body that Rover Scouts first belong to is generally called a Crew, just as Scouts generally belong to a Troop and Cubs generally belong to a Pack. The crew governs itself, but often has an older adult as a Crew Advisor or a Rover Scout Leader. Characterized as a “brotherhood of open air and service” by the founder, Baden-Powell, Rovering has several specific objectives. The objectives of Rovering are to:
Rovering provides an experience that leads to a life enriched in the following ways:
Each of these elements from character through service finds expression in the activities of the Rover Scout Crew. From its inception in 1918, Baden-Powell intended Rovering to have no upper age limit; however, after his death in 1941, the typical age shifted to 18 - 25. Traditional Scouting Organizations such as World Federation Of Independent Scouts (WFIS), Baden-Powell Scouts (BPSA), Rover Explorer Scouts Association (RESA), Pathfinder Scouts Association (PSA), and the United States Rovers continue to honor the founders intent by having no upper age limit. ROVERS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM Rovering first started in 1918 in the U.K., ten years after the start of the Scouting program. After an initially rough start [due in large part to the impacts of the First World War (Walker, 2002), the Rover Scout program emerged and began to grow. By 1931, Rovering had established itself internationally to the extent that it saw the organisation of the first World Rover Moot in 1931 at Kandersteg , Switzerland . Initially, there was no upper age limit. Later it was fixed at 25. Rovers Scouts were abolished in 1968, when Venture Scouts with an age range of 16 - 19 were introduced. Scout Network was introduced in 2003 to cover the age range 18 to 25 that much earlier had been the Rover Scout age range. ROVERS IN THE US Early days In the United States , glimmerings of Rovering emerged as local councils, Scout leaders, and Scouts worked together to deal with the "older boy" problem--that is, to find some way for Scouting to flourish into young adulthood. As early as 1928 there were known to be Crews in Seattle , Detroit , Toledo and elsewhere. The program particularly flourished in New England around 1929, through the efforts of Robert Hale , who produced an early Rover Scout Booklet . By 1932, there were 36 official experimental Crews, with 27 of them in 15 New England councils. Finally, in May of 1933 the National Executive Board approved the program, and starting plans for development of literature and helps to leaders (Brown, 2002). A bimonthly newsletter, the ''Rover Record'', was inaugurated in 1935 as a means of communicating with directly with Rover Scouts and Leaders. A number of regional Rover Moots also were implemented during this period. To further support the start of Rovering in the Boy Scouts Of America (BSA), the first Wood Badge course held in the United States was a Rover Scout Wood Badge course, directed by English Scouter John Skinner Wilson . Rovering, as it was conceived, was to serve as the oldest section in the program -- the final stage of Scout training that started with Cub Scouts , continued with Boy Scouts and was brought to fruition through Rovering - the training and service branch of the Scout Group . Decline of Rover Scouts in the U.S.A. Brown (2002) also offers more perspective on the history of Rover Scouting in the USA: The "demise" of Rover Scouts is unclear, but not unexpected. The program was never very big, not helped by the fact that National didn't really "sell" the program, preferring to push other Senior programs like Sea Scouts and Explorer Scouts . When much of the literature of the time mentioned Rovers, if at all, with a few paragraphs or a page or two that doesn't do much in explaining the program and getting people to want to join. In 1952, the National Office decided to stop chartering new Crews, and no longer recorded Rover membership after 1953. The National Office also wanted to concentrate its efforts on the Explorer programs, rather than Rovers, thus hastening its demise. It was in 1965, when several other changes occurred in the Senior programs that National stopped re-registering Rover Crews as Rover Crews. Those that continued to exist where apparently re-registered as Exploring Posts (later Venturing Crews ) instead, but continued to use the Rover program. Explorers were founded in 1935 and Air Scouts in 1942. As WWI had slowed the start of Rovering in the UK, the Second World War caused the same difficulties for Rovering in the USA, with many young men of Rovering age fighting for their country overseas. Combined with the economic upheavals of the depression, and it is clear that circumstances were working against the development of Rovering in the Boy Scouts Of America (BSA). By the time of the 1949 reconceptualization of senior Scouting, the BSA only recognised 1,329 Rover Scouts in the BSA. By 1953, only 691 Scouts were officially recognised as Rovers, and after 1953, the Rover numbers were counted along with those involved in Exploring. A few Rover Crews remained in existence, operating under a "grandfather" clause until changes mandated by the National Office of the BSA in 1965 leadership decreed: NO MORE. At that point, existing Crews were rechartered as Explorer Posts - with a specialisation in Rovering. Among the most widely known of these Crews was the influential B-P Rover Crew of Glasgow, KY, which delivered the Rover Scout program from the 1950s until 2000. The B-P Crew was instrumental in starting other Crews such as the Kudu Crew of Bardstown, KY and the Diamond Willow Crew of Chicago, IL. The B-P Crew also hosted the internationally well-regarded Rover Wee Moot from 1953 until 1999. Now, Rovering in the USA is being rekindled in the form of the United States Rovers. Not associated with the BSA, the US Rovers is a group of American Scouters dedicated to perpetuating the history and traditions of Rover Scouting. ROVERS IN AUSTRALIA Rovers (men and women aged 18 to 26) may be a small section of Scouts Australia , but they provide a great source of leader support for the association. The section resisted attempts to abolish it in the 1960s Advance Report (unlike its British counterpart, which was disbanded), but did modernise in the next decade. In 1974, women were admitted to Rovers in Australia, one of two great leaps forward in the seventies. The next great step, self government, came about in the late 1970s with the St George's River (a scouting District in New South Wales ) experiment. Rovers were able to prove that they could govern themselves, leading to their Leaders stepping back to become Rover Advisers. Rovers took up the challenge and the section has grown for the better. It is also around this time that the section came to be known as the Rovers (dropping the word Scouts). Australian Rovers provide active service to the Venturer Section (14 to 17 year olds), as well as the Joey Scout s, Cub Scout and Scout sections. Service in the community is also valued, with many Branch Rover Councils (the governing bodies for Rovers in each State and Territory) awarding annual awards to Crews who provide exemplary service to the community and/or scouting. National Rover Moots are held every 3 years in Australia and the next one, Aussie Moot , will be held near Sydney in the 2007-08 summer. In 2008, Australian Rovers mark their 90th birthday, along with the 100th anniversary of scouting in Australia. ROVERING IN OTHER COUNTRIES Rovering spread to many other countries following its inception in Britain in 1918, although it no longer exists in Britain. Today, the Rover section remains an important part of Scouting in many European countries, in most member countries of the Commonwealth Of Nations (eg. Canada , Australia , New Zealand , South Africa , India ), across Central and South America , the Middle East and in many other countries such as Japan , Thailand and Korea . New Zealand Rovers , in particular, hold a National Moot every year over Easter Weekend where international participants are always openly welcomed. Rover Scouting continued among the troops during the Second World War, even in Prisoner Of War (POW) camps. A particularly detailed account of Rover Crews, with British, Australian, Dutch and American troops as members, in Japanese POW camps at Changi and on the Burma Railway can be found on the Scouting Milestones web site. Some artifacts of the Changi Rover Crew, including the Crew flag, have been preserved; they are now held by the Scout Heritage Centre ( Scouts Australia , Scouting In Victoria ). SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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