New Training Required on Tour Permits

It was announced in the Spring 2008 edition of the Health and Safety News that effective January 1, 2009, Weather Hazards training is mandatory for at least one adult on each tour. In addition, a new version of the Local Tour Permit form has been printed for immediate use. Don't forget that the Cornhusker Council's Risk Management Committee has indicated that a Local Tour Permit is required for any outing, including any council or district activity that: Includes any form of aquatic activity; Involves any form of climbing/rappelling activity; Is more than 50 miles from the unit’s regular meeting place; OR IS OVERNIGHT.” (Emphasis is mine.)

The Weather Hazards Training course is available on-line through the National website at http://olc.scouting.org and does require that you sign up for a MyScouting account in order to get to the eLearning Portal where the on-line training is available. The Weather Hazards course includes training, testing, and additional resources on weather conditions that may be encountered during BSA Activities, including lightning, flash floods, tornadoes, hot and cold weather, hail, and hurricanes. It took me about 35 minutes to complete and I thought that the course content is very appropriate for youth members as well as the adult leaders.

Although it is similar to the form currently in use, the new Local Tour Permit form will be available shortly for download in a Portable Document Format (PDF). This allows it to be saved on a computer, filled in as needed, printed and then signatures added. Other items that will be required on the new Permit are:

• That the itinerary be listed, including the daily mileage and stopping places
• Name of adult trained in Youth Protection (note that YPT does expire after two years)
• A list of trained adults for activities requiring Safe Swim Defense/Safety Afloat, CPR, BALOO (Cub Scout camping) and NRA (shooting sports) training. This list does include the expiration date of the training and in some instances, the name of the agency conducting the training.

As a Commissioner, you need to make sure that you are familiar with all the Training available to, or required of, our unit leaders. Make sure you are up-to-date! Be the first on your block to take the new Training!

Any comments can be directed to Commissioner@cornhuskercouncil.org