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Cub Scout National Summertime Pack Award

The Cub Scout National Summertime Pack Award recognizes packs that are active during summer. Scouts can also earn den & individual awards.

requirements for summertime pack award

Cub Scouting's National Summertime Pack Award is given to packs that conduct at least one activity in each of the summer months, June, July, and August. It is intended to encourage packs to have a year-round program.

National Summertime Pack Award

The award has three components–pack, den and individual. The application for the award is a bit unclear on how these three work.  This makes the award somewhat confusing. I suspect that some packs who have actually earned the award aren't applying for it because they think they didn't meet the requirements.

National Summertime Pack Award

For a Cub Scout pack to earn the award, they simply need to hold at least one pack event or activity in each of the three months–June, July, and August. That's it. There is no attendance requirement to earn the pack award.

summertime pack award certificate
I believe this certificate is still available.

Activities can be as simple or as elaborate as you want. They could be just for fun or could benefit your community. The point is to do something as a pack to keep the Scouts involved in Scouting over the summer break.

Check out these 75 pack activities for the Summertime Pack Award.

summertime pack award ribbon

Packs are awarded the National Summertime Pack Award and a ribbon for their pack flag.

UPDATE:  On the Cub Scout Ideas Facebook page, some folks mentioned that they were told they must have 50% attendance at all of the events in order to earn the pack award. I decided to check with Mike Lo Vecchio who is a  Program/Advancement Specialist with the Boy Scouts of America. Here is a screenshot of his response to me.

reply about national summertime pack awards

Based on Mike's response, a pack that has the events and has any of its Cub Scouts attend qualifies for this award.

If someone in your Council is saying that you must have 50% attendance, feel free to show him or her this email. They may want to contact Mike directly to verify.

National Summertime Pack Award for Dens

If 50% or more of the members of a den attend all three events, that den will receive a den participation ribbon. Here's an example for you.

summertime pack award den ribbon


A Wolf den has 9 Scouts.  In June, 6 of them attend. In July, 4 of them attend. In August, 8 of them attend. That's a total of 18 “Scout units” (for lack of a better term) who attended a summer pack event. If all Scouts had attended all events, there would have been 27 “Scout units.” I divided 18 by 27 to get 66%.

So, the Wolf den is eligible for the den award.

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Some people may interpret this to mean that each month, the den must have 50% of its members in attendance. This page on the BSA website says, “Dens with an average attendance of at least half their members at the three summer pack events are eligible for a colorful den participation ribbon.” Based on the way it's worded, I think the correct way to calculate the average is by counting the “Scout units.”

National Summertime Pack Award for Individuals

Cub Scouts who attend all three of the pack's summer events earn the National Summertime Pack Award pin.  The youth members can earn individual recognition each summer. 

The pin is worn on the right pocket flap of their uniform shirt.

The color on the pin varies depending on rank.

summertime pack award pin
  • Tiger – Orange
  • Wolf – Red
  • Bear – Red
  • Webelos – Blue

Some packs conduct more than one event each month so that Scouts will have more than one opportunity to attend. If his or her family happens to be on vacation during one event, they'll still have an opportunity to earn the award.

Our pack allows Scouts to count Scouting events beyond the pack events. For example, if a Scout misses the pack's June event, but he or she goes to Cub Scout day camp in June, we consider that as attending a June event.

There may be packs that won't count events other than their own. My opinion is that this Cub Scout summertime award is intended to keep Scouts involved in Scouting during a time when the pack may not be holding regular meetings. So, if he or she attends some sort of Scouting event, he or she is involved, and they should get the award.

To apply for the award, fill out this application. I've added it here for your convenience. I found it on the Scouting.org website.

What are some of the activities that your pack does for the National Summertime Pack Award?

Yours in Scouting,
Sherry

P.S. Check out some of the other Cub Scout awards our Scouts can earn.

aiPxvpay

Friday 1st of March 2024

1

Brandon

Sunday 6th of June 2021

Does the summertime award count toward their current rank or future rank? If the blue and gold ceremony is done in April/May and my son went from Wolf to Bear is the upcoming summer award counted toward him being a Wolf or a Bear? Thanks

Ben

Thursday 6th of August 2020

I have new Cub Scouts registering mid-summer, and have been standing up new dens that would have an activity only in August. I'm looking for guidance on whether a scout or den can earn the award for the August activity alone.

To give a specific example, a scout registers as a Lion between the July and August events. I create a new Lion den and place them in the den. Should the scout attend the August event, they will have attended all the events in the summer **since they joined**, and the den would have 100% participation **since it was created**. Have the scout and the den earned the award?

My opinion is YES, as they have Done Their Best.

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