The Badge Archive

Ages 14-20.

Ranks

All requirements must be met before the 21st birthday.

• Apprentice
• Ordinary
• Able
• Quartermaster

Special Awards

• America’s Boating Club Finley Sea Scout Service Award
• Long Cruise Award
• National Outdoor Awards
• Qualified Seaman bar
• Sea Scout Marksmanship Award
• Sea Scout Leadership Award
• Small-Boat Handler bar

Aquatics Specialty Awards

• Boardsailing BSA
• BSA Lifeguard
• Kayaking BSA
• Mile Swim BSA
• Paddlecraft Safety – Instructors Guide
• Scuba BSA
• Snorkeling BSA
• Stand Up Paddleboarding
• Whitewater Rafting BSA

Sea Scouts can earn Scouts BSA Merit Badges

Basic History

1935 – Started as Senior Scouts for ages 15 and older. There were several sub sections, including Sea Scouts, Air Scouts, Explorer Scouts (an advanced outdoor program), and Rover Scouts.

1949 – Lowered age to join to 14 and became the Explorer Program with sub sections of Sea Explorers, Air Explorers, and Explorer Scouts (broader program of all the other sub sections instead of just outdoor focused).

1969 – Young women ages 14-20 were allowed to join. Explorers focused more on career but still had outdoor and sports.

1971 – Young women were allowed full membership in Exploring and the upper age for both genders was raised to 21.

1998 – Renamed to Venturing with outdoor activities and the old BSA Explorer program and Learning for Life was renamed Exploring. Sea Exploring was renamed Sea Scouting under the Venturing program. Venturing was still the forest green uniform of Exploring. The new Venturing Silver Award (inspired by the old Exploring Silver Award) and a Gold with 5 Bronze Awards were introduced. The Venturing Ranger Award was created.

2016 – Sea Scouts became a separate division from Venturing.

References:

• History (2024) About Venturing. Available at: https://www.scouting.org/programs/venturing/about-venturing/history/ (Accessed: 22 December 2024).
• Townley, Alvin (2007). Legacy of Honor: The Values and Influence of America’s Eagle Scouts. New York: St. Martin’s Press. p. 12. ISBN 978-0312366537. Archived from the original on May 29, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
• Venturing (2024) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venturing (Accessed: 22 December 2024).

Go back to the Scouting America page.

Find out how you can support The Badge Archive!