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Extra-curricular activities

Find advice on the best extra curricular activities in secondary schools and primary schools here.

Original poster

Cubs/Beavers Activity Badges.

30 replies

Misfitless · 21/07/2014 23:22

Can't believe I care enough to start a thread on this, but I do! (What has my life become?)

Anyway, just browsing through the activity badges for cubs and am a bit peeved that there appears to be an activity badge for sports like martial arts, equestrian sports, ice skating, but not one for your common-a-garden, good old fashioned, accessible to all...football, or netball, for that matter! Confused

Does anyone know why, or does anyone else care? (In other words, is anyone as sad as me?)

OP posts:
EduCated · 23/07/2014 10:11

The skating one actually covers ice skating, inline skating, rollerblading and skateboarding, and there's a huge range of martial arts, so each of them covers a wide range of sports. There's also the athletic one, which again covers a huge range of disciplines.

I'm actually Brownies, rather than cubs, but in Brownies for a lot of the badges you can get them more than once, e.g. if you play more than one instrument you can get another music badge for each one. Is it the same for cubs?

I think equestrian is enough of a different skill to warrant a badge.

Original poster
Misfitless · 23/07/2014 02:48

No, of course not! But why single out some sports/hobbies and not others?

It's just not equal is it? I imagine that football, for example, is probably one of the most popular sports played among members, it's also one of the most accessible of all sports, so it seems a bit odd that there isn't a football badge, but there's one for horse riding.

I've nothing against people who do equestrian sports getting the relevant badge, just think that if you can get one for horseriding, I think you should be able to get one, with a football on, for example.

Are you a leader, BackforGood?

I know that the Physical Rec Activity Badge has a ref's whistle I don't see how that is relevant, apart from perhaps reinforcing my point, i.e. netball, football, hockey, rugby, badminton, tennis are all very different sports, but are all represented by a non-specific badge. It sort of makes it seem less important and /or recognised than equestrian sports, which are less popular and less accessible.

I know it sounds petty, and that no one else probably cares, I did say as much in my OP Smile

OP posts:
BackforGood · 23/07/2014 01:02

They aren't - indeed, the physical rec one has a ref's whistle on it.
There are loads of sports you could get it for - you can earn it more than once, for different sports if you want to.

Seems an odd thing to be worrying about, tbh, that there's a badge for some unusual sports, but not specific ones for all the different more common sports.
What about hobbies - are you happy that there is a general 'hobbies' badge, or do you think they need to list every possible hobby that a child could ever partake in ?

Original poster
Misfitless · 23/07/2014 00:32

Thanks for replying, Ed. That's sort of my point!

My DS has already got his Sports Enthusiast Badge and will soon gain his Physical Rec Badge.

I don't see why certain elitist sports, which are accessible to only a small percentage of cubs, such as equestrian sports or ice skating have a specific badge, when a really popular and accessible sport such as football does not.

There is even a martial arts badge.

Not sure how the association can justify it tbh. If you have the money and the resources to go ice skating/horse riding, you are entitled to gain a specific badge, but if you play in football team, the only relevant badge is the one that absolutely anyone can get for any sport Confused. What's so special about martial arts, too, that it merits a specific badge?

My DS would be really made up to get a football badge, and he's no less dedicated to his sport and his team than someone who goes to riding lessons once a week. In fact playing in his team requires a lot more dedication than that. Why are football, and other sports, such as hockey and netball seen as less worthy, do you think?

OP posts:
EduCated · 22/07/2014 21:37

There's Physical Recreation and Sports Enthusiast which can be any sport.