Orienteering Merit Badge

Over the winter break, our scouts elected to continue to meet and work on a merit badge. As part of the National Outdoor Award for units and to just get us outside, the scouts choose Orienteering. For those who might not know what this cool sport is, it's a usually a timed event to run a specific course using only a map and compass. The map will have general directions and a control sheet to help the competitor find the marker or control point. There are two ways to run the course, a Cross Country which means all points must be visited in a specific order; or a Score-O in which all points have a specific value and there isn't enough time to visit them all, choices made for which ones can give you the highest score. 

Scouts, with the help of a Merit Badge Counselor in Las Vegas, were able to learn about the sport and how to play. They eventually made their own courses! A great time was had by all, and a wonderful way to get exercise and get outdoors safely.