COPE: Challenging Outdoor Personal Experience
Project COPE is an exciting outdoor activity that can attract and keep older boys in Scouting. It is designed to meet the needs of today’s youth who are seeking greater physical and mental challenges. The underlying goals of a Project COPE course are consistent with the methods of Scouting. Group activities are ideal for emphasizing the patrol method and developing leadership. Individual activities help promote personal growth. Participation is entirely voluntary.
For additional COPE resources go to https://www.scouting.org/outdoor-programs/cope/
Steve Miller
COPE Committe Chair
Grand Canyon Council
stevemiller.az@cox.net
Since its founding in 1910, the Boy Scouts of America has offered its members an outdoor program stressing personal fitness. COPE is an acronym for Challenging Outdoor Personal Experience.
It comprises a series of outdoor challenges, beginning with basic group initiative games and progressing to more complicated low-course and high-course activities.
Some of these events involve a group effort, whereas others test individual skills and agility. Participants climb, swing, balance, jump, and rappel as well as think through solutions to a variety of challenges.
Most participants find that they can do much more than they initially thought that they could.
Project COPE Course
A Project COPE course provides an opportunity for each participant to achieve success as an individual and as a member of a group. The activities are not designed to be competitive or to be races against time. The objectives include team building, problem solving, decision making, and developing trust, communication, leadership, planning, and self-esteem as team members cooperate to achieve goals upon which they have mutually agreed. The course is designed to foster personal growth among both youth and adult groups.
All COPE activities require a currently certified COPE director and currently trained COPE instructors.
Project COPE participants include any young men or women, ages 13 and older, who are registered with a Scout Troop, Sea Scout Ship, or a Venturing Crew. All registered adult leaders accompanying a group may also participate. Individually customized programs are designed for each group based upon their stated goals.
COPE Facilitator Training
COPE (Challenging Outdoor Personal Experience) is an exciting program that teaches important lessons, but the classroom is like no other.
COPE uses mental and physical challenges, low and high elements above ground to teach confidence, self-esteem, trust, leadership, team building and problem solving.
As a COPE instructor, you’ll guide participants throughout their outdoor challenge as they overcome obstacles and challenges in their path!
