RANK advancement
Cub Scouting is for boys in the first through fifth grades, or 7 to 10 years of age. Boys who are older than 10, or who have completed the fifth grade, can no longer join Cub Scouting, but they may be eligible to join the Boy Scouting or Venturing program. A typical grade and corresponding program is listed below.
- Any Grade - Bobcat
- 1st Grade - Tiger Cub
- 2nd Grade - Wolf
- 3rd Grade - Bear
- 4th Grade - Webelos I
- 5th Grade - Webelos II
![]() BOBCAT |
The Bobcat rank is for all boys who join
Cub Scouting. No matter what age or grade a boy joins Cub Scouting,
he must earn his Bobcat badge before he can advance to the rank of
Tiger Cub, Wolf, Bear, or Webelos. A boy must complete the Bobcat
requirements, which include:
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![]() TIGER CUB |
The Tiger Cub program is for first-grade (or age 7) boys and
their adult partners. There are five Tiger Cub achievement
areas. The Tiger Cub, working with his adult partner, completes
15 requirements within these areas to earn the Tiger Cub badge.
These requirements consist of an exciting series of indoor and
outdoor activities just right for a boy in the first grade.
To begin his path to the Tiger Cub rank, the Tiger Cub (age 7) must learn the Cub Scout promise, the Cub Scout sign, and the Cub Scout salute. When he has learned these, he gets his Tiger Cub emblem, which is a tiger paw with four strings for beads. He wears the emblem on his right pocket. As a boy finishes each part of the five Tiger Cub achievements, he earns an orange bead (for den activities), a white bead (for family activities), or a black bead (for "Go See Its"). When the boy has earned five beads of each color, he can receive his Tiger Cub badge. The Tiger Cub badge is given to the boy's adult partner at a pack meeting. Then, during a grand ceremony, the adult gives the badge to the boy.
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![]() WOLF |
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![]() BEAR |
The Bear rank is for boys who have finished second grade (or are
9 years old). There are 24 Bear achievements in four groups. A
boy must complete 12 of the achievements to be a Bear Cub Scout.
These requirements are harder and more challenging than those
for the Wolf badge. When a boy has earned his Bear badge, he may
work on electives to earn Arrow Points to wear under his Bear
badge.
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![]() WEBELOS |
Webelos dens are for boys who have completed third grade (or
reached age 10). The Webelos den program is different from the Cub
Scout den program. Everything in the Webelos Scout program is more
challenging than what younger boys in the pack do. Webelos Scouts
get to work on the 20 Webelos activity badges:
Webelos Scouts work on requirements during their weekly den meetings. Once a boy learns a skill, he practices it at den meetings and at home on his own. His family helps him at home. Webelos Scouts bring the projects they do at home to the den meetings to show others, and to have the Webelos den leader approve their projects. When a boy has done the requirements for an activity badge, the Webelos den leader or activity badge counselor, rather than a parent, approves most of the activity badges. It takes three activity badges, including Fitness and Citizen, to earn the Webelos badge. Besides earning activity badges, Webelos Scouts can earn the compass points emblem. This emblem is awarded after a Webelos Scout has earned seven activity badges. For each four activity badges a Webelos Scout earns after that, he receives a compass point—east, west, north, and south.
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![]() ARROW OF LIGHT |
The highest rank in Cub Scouting is the Arrow of Light Award.
Earning this rank prepares a Webelos Scout to become a Boy Scout.
Webelos Scouts who have earned the Arrow of Light Award have also
completed all requirements for the Boy Scout badge.
Along with the religious knot, this award is the only Cub Scout badge that can be worn on the Boy Scout uniform when a boy graduates into a troop. Adult leaders who earned the Arrow of Light Award when they were young may also show their achievement by wearing a special square knot on their adult uniform. |





