Wood Badge
Wood Badge 2025!
Seek Clarity, Shine Brightly!
July 13 to 19, 2025
Camp Freedom, Oberdachstetten Germany
Registration opens soon for Wood Badge Course 12-802-25!
Have you attended Wood Badge? Interested in serving on staff for the July 2025 course? Do you have questions? Or just would like some general information?
Please contact Course Director Pattie Nortman
In 1911, Baden-Powell took the first steps in training Scouting’s adult leaders by organizing a series of lectures for Scouters. He made great strides in the years that followed, culminating in 1919 with the establishment of Wood Badge training. Wood Badge recipients now number more than 100,000 and can be found in all corners of the world.
Wood Badge is the advanced leadership and team-building training for adult leaders. It teaches skills that are useful in Scouting and elsewhere. The program is for Cub Scout, Scouts BSA and Venturing leaders as well as council and district leaders.
Wood Badge focuses on leadership. It does not focus on outdoor skills.
The Wood Badge course brings together leaders from all areas of Scouting – Cub Scouts, Scouts BSA, Venturing, and all levels of BSA’s professional staff. Reflecting the best of nearly a century of Scouting experience, Wood Badge also draws upon the most current leadership models being used by corporate America, academic circles, and successful outdoor leadership organizations throughout the country.
The Wood Badge course is designed to represent a month in the life of a Scout unit, with participants entering as Cub Scouts, then bridging into Boy Scouting to form patrols for the remainder of the program. Selected staff members will interact with participants as a Venturing crew. Participants will take part in numerous presentations, discussions, and activities that explore and advance a wide range of leadership philosophies and tools. In addition to all the opportunities for learning at a Wood Badge course, participants will find a tremendous amount of fellowship, a keen sense of accomplishment, and plenty of fun. Wood Badge should:
- Enhance leaders ability to train other leaders who can effectively lead their groups.
- Increase the number of units using small and large group models best defined by the patrol method.
- Increase the efficiency and effectiveness with which units operate.
- Leaders will be more effective working with large units comprised of many dens/patrols/adults giving more individuals the opportunity to lead.
- Improve retention of adult leaders through increased personal satisfaction and fulfillment.
The course is a week long course. Dates are 13 to 19 July 2025. (Arrangements can be made for early arrivals.)
Course fees for participants will be $300 ($325 After June 1, 2025)
A $100 deposit reserves your space- register now!
Special Note: Wood Badge 2025 is being conducted at Camp Freedom the same times & dates as NYLT 2025. We recommend leaders promote the double win for their units by sending both youth and adults to these world class training opportunities. It might also simplify travel and transportation for Scouts who want to participate in NYLT.
If you have attended Wood Badge and have completed your ticket (i.e. Received your Beads), you will have to register yourself with our Council in order for us to let you know of Wood Badge opportunities as well as other leadership opportunities.
Financial Assistance in the form of Camperships is a resource available to Scouts and Leaders who may have limited financial resources to help them attend a TAC camp or program. Apply here.
