For boys or girls who have completed second grade or are 9 years old. For boys or girls who have completed first grade or are 8 years old. For boys or girls who have completed kindergarten or are 7 years old. Earned first by all Cub Scouts, no matter what age they join. After earning Bobcat, Cub Scouts work on advancement for their grade or age level. The first badge all Cub Scouts (except those in the Lion program) earn, regardless of age, is the Bobcat badge. While there’s a recommended speed at which ranks are completed, a Scout BSA member can advance at his or her own pace. The only real deadline: age 18, when a Scout is no longer a youth member of the BSA. They advance at their own pace - independent of grade, age or the progress of their fellow Scouts. In Scouts BSA, though, Scouts hold the reins. They also can’t move ahead to the next rank if they finish requirements early. In Cub Scouting, advancement is grade- or age-based. It’s a rank-per-year system designed to offer age-appropriate fun and challenges as Cub Scouts progress through the program.Ĭub Scouts don’t go back and work on ranks designed for earlier grade levels. Rank advancement in Cub Scouting is not like rank advancement in Scouts BSA.
