COPE COURSE
South Plains Council

Strengthening. Testing. Team Building. 
COPE (Challenging Outdoor Personal Experience) brings the
tradition of the Boy Scouts relationship with the outdoors to the 
doorstep of new realms of adventure. 

COPE 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 they could. 
 
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 challenges to their physical and mental abilities.
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 Scouts!
Whether your unit is in major need of team building activities or just 
wanting to get out and about, the COPE adventure at Camp Post is
truly an outdoor experience like no other.

For the Community!
Corporate or other non-profit organizations can also impact productivity
and morale through development of a quality COPE course experience.

Objectives
Before implementing a course program, the group  should determine
what it seeks to accomplish. Seven major goals are commonly associated
with Project COPE activities: 

1. Leadership development
2. Problem solving
3. Communication
4. Self-esteem
5. Trust
6. Decision making
7. Teamwork

Participants should be challenged to develop team goals for each activity. Afterward a reflection is accomplished through nondirective questioning that encourages participants to analyze how they did as a group and as individuals, and how they could do better in future endeavors including life skills.