The Badge Archive

Movement Course

Fulfills Step 2 of GSUSA Junior Practice with Purpose badge requirements.

Info Needed for Badge Requirements:
Aerobic exercise increases heart rate and breathing, helping scouts build endurance and strengthen their cardiovascular system. Tracking progress during cardio activities allows scouts to observe how effort and practice lead to improvement over time.

Items Needed:

  • Stopwatch or timer (one per scout pair)
  • Paper (one sheet per scout)
  • Pens or pencils
  • Writing surfaces (clipboards, tables, or books)
  • Optional: athletic shoes and clothing for movement
  • Open space (gym or outdoor area)
  • Cones or markers for start and finish points for each pair

Instructions (Total Estimated Time: 25–35 minutes):

  1. Choose and Set Up the Endurance Course (5–8 minutes)
    • Select one movement activity such as short sprints, shuttle runs, or a simple obstacle path.
    • Mark clear start and finish points using cones, chalk, tape, or natural boundaries.
    • Ensure the activity is brief but challenging (should take 1–2 minutes to complete per scout).
  2. Pair Up and Time the First Round (8–12 minutes)
    • Assign scouts into pairs. Each pair should have access to one stopwatch or timer and one course to run.
    • One scout runs the full activity while their partner times them and records their result. Then they switch roles.
    • Each scout writes down their first time as their baseline.
  3. Run a Second Timed Round (8–12 minutes)
    • Scouts complete the same activity again with their partner timing them.
    • Times are recorded side-by-side to compare with the baseline.
    • Scouts note whether they improved and how they felt the second time. It’s okay if scouts don’t improve their time. The focus is on movement and effort today.
  4. Reflect on Movement and Endurance (4–5 minutes)
    • Scouts answer reflection questions in their journals or aloud:
      • Did your time improve?
      • Did your heart rate increase?
      • What helped you push through the second round?
    • Reinforce that this type of cardio strengthens the heart and helps scouts build physical endurance over time.

Notes for Leaders:

The troop leader would choose one cardio-based exercise that:

  • Can be done in a short burst (e.g., 1–3 minutes at a time)
  • Can be repeated to challenge stamina
  • Allows for timing or tracking progress over multiple rounds

The intent is:

  • Set up a basic movement challenge (like sprinting back and forth, jumping over cones, or completing stations with exercises like jumping jacks, squats, or lunges)
  • Have scouts perform it once to establish a baseline time (how fast they did it)
  • Repeat the same challenge again once or twice, aiming to improve on that time

For example:

  • If doing “running ladders,” scouts would run short laps with quick turnarounds
  • If doing “interval training,” they might rotate through timed stations (e.g., 30 seconds each of three exercises)
  • If doing an “obstacle course,” they’d complete a path with simple actions (hop over cones, crawl under chairs, weave through markers)
Tia Kennard