Trail of the Saber - Covid-19 Response

June 10, 2020

As you are all so aware of, the Covid-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on our Royal Rangers national training and events as well as district training and events. The Trail of the Saber is not left unscathed during this pandemic fallout. There are many boys who will get caught in a calendar crunch that is simply not their fault due to the closing of most, if not all, JLDA camps for the 2020 season. I received a few emails from concerned leaders, and I’m glad to say that within less than two weeks of receiving my first email we had a solution created and distributed to our district/network directors. A few days later it was pointed out that I missed a scenario, so we of course turned our attention to rectify that and redistributed the information to our district/network directors. The following is the solution for 2020:

The Challenge

With the Covid-19 pandemic causing most, if not all, Junior Leadership Development Academy (JLDA) camps to close for the 2020 season, the challenge is:

What if a boy only has an action camp or the Junior Academy (JA) to complete his Trail of the Saber (TOTS) but will turn 18 before his district will hold its next action camp or JA in 2021?

-OR-

What if a boy has completed Junior Training Camp (JTC) and two action camps and only needs his Advanced Junior Training Camp (AJTC)* to complete his TOTS but will turn 18 before his district will hold its next AJTC in 2021?

*A boy may attend two action camps prior to attending AJTC. However, AJTC is a prerequisite to attend JA.

Note: Since the JLDA camps are mainly experiential in nature, the national office will not be considering an online or virtual replacement for the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic closures. For the boy under 17 whose plan was to complete one camp per year just prior to turning 18, he will most likely have to double up one year to maintain his schedule.

The Solution

If a district/network has cancelled its JA, action camps, or AJTC for the 2020 season due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and a boy who is in good standing and has had regular attendance at the district’s JLDA camps will turn 18 before his district/network will hold its next JA, action camps, or AJTC in 2021, he may request the district director to email the national training coordinator to request a waiver.

The district director’s email shall include:

1. The boy’s completed and signed Trail of the Saber Application except for one action camp or JA or AJTC having been completed
2. What JLDA camps (including action camps) had been planned and were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic
3. Confirmation that the young man is in good standing with the district and has been a regular attender of its JLDA camps**
4. A request to waive his final action camp or JA or AJTC to be allowed to be awarded the TOTS

**To be in good standing means that the young man has maintained the district’s guidelines for JLDA attendance with his district and outside of his district.

The deadline for receipt of email and completed application by the national training coordinator (dwmorrison@ag.org) is December 31, 2020.

Note: To be shy more than one camp will not be considered for waiver.

There are many aspects of our lives that have been affected by the pandemic, and way too many things that were simply placed out of our control. The national office is pleased to be able to offer this solution amidst the uncertainty of Covid-19 in 2020 for our young men working hard to complete their Trail of the Saber.

Mentoring Future Men together/remotely in 2020,