COPE (Boy Scouts of America)

Project COPE
A Venturer traverses a COPE High Ropes course
CountryUnited States
Founded1980 (1980)
 Scouting portal

Project COPE, which stands for Challenging Outdoor Personal Experience, is a program in the Boy Scouts of America that consists of tests to develop strength, agility, coordination, reasoning, mutual trust, and group problem-solving.[1][2] Founded in 1980, by 1991 there were 200 COPE courses offered across the United States.[3] During non-summer camp months, Project COPE courses have been made available to high schools,[4] and to private groups for team building.[5] The project has also been part of at least one program to reduce recidivism among nonviolent juvenile offenders.[6]

Group trust events that are part of Project COPE include standing on an elevated platform or tree stump and falling backwards to be caught by a human zipper.[7] In another exercise designed to show the importance of leadership, teams are blindfolded as they navigate through the woods, with only the people at the very front and back of the line allowed to speak.[7] Participants progress from simple group games to low- and high-course rope activities.[8] There are no time limits.[9]

History

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According to the U.S. Scouting Service Project, C.O.P.E. originated in St. Joseph, Missouri, as a program at Camp Geiger in the late 1970s, under the leadership of Parvin Bishop of the Pony Express Council.[10][11]

After seeing challenge courses such as the Dalajamb World Jamboree International Encampment in Sweden, which offered a woodland pioneering course complete with zip lines and bridges, the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America was interested in offering similar programs nationwide.[12] The first Project COPE took place in 1980.[11] Following a three-year pilot in Missouri, the council recommended Project COPE as an optional project across the country,[13] and tested it across six locations.[14]

Among other benefits, Project COPE was viewed as a way to keep older Scouts engaged with Scouting as they grew older.[12] The program also helped to popularize Scouting among the wider public.[13]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Cope, Jane (August 11, 1985). "Campers: Boy Scouts from Britain learn about American counterparts". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved March 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Peterson, Robert (1984). The Boy Scouts: An American Adventure. New York: American Heritage; Distributed by Houghton Mifflin. pp. 209–210. ISBN 0828111731.
  3. ^ Butterworth, W. E. (March 1991). "A sizzling summer of whitewater rafting, super summer camps waterskiing, COPEing and more". Boys' Life. Vol. 81, no. 3. p. 32. Retrieved March 26, 2024 – via EBSCOHost.
  4. ^ "In brief". The Washington Post. March 13, 2008. ProQuest 410262649. Retrieved March 30, 2024 – via ProQuest.
  5. ^ Kinsey, Angie (July 8, 1998). "Project COPE: The Boy Scouts' outdoor obstacle course helps co-workers learn together". The Paducah Sun. Kentucky. Retrieved March 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Goodrich, Robert (July 26, 1999). "St. Clair County, Scouts are planning crime prevention program for youth". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved March 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b Hyatt, Richard (October 3, 1993). "Teens Battle Their Demons: Kids from different walks of life learn to trust, communicate". Ledger-Enquirer. pp. D-1, D-5. Retrieved March 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Reagan, Sean (July 25, 2005). "Learning the ropes in the outdoors: Project COPe offers challenge for area Scouts". Daily Hampshire Gazette. Retrieved March 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Bissett, Rita (July–August 1987). "Project C.O.P.E.: A true cooperative encounter". Airstream. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  10. ^ "C.O.P.E." U.S. Scouting Service Project. Retrieved June 9, 2007.
  11. ^ a b Ellgren, Nathan (July 10, 2017). "COPE challenges Scouts' skills". St. Joseph News-Press. Retrieved March 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ a b "Project COPE". Boy Scouts of America. Archived from the original on February 26, 2008. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  13. ^ a b "Learning to Cope". Scouting. January–February 1983. Retrieved March 31, 2024 – via Google Books.
  14. ^ "Scout program here copied across country". St. Joseph News-Press. October 18, 1983. p. 6. Retrieved March 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
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