Baden-Powell Scouts

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The Baden-Powell Scouts (BPSA) are a youth organisation found in various countries. This was the catalyst for the Traditional Scouting movement, but not all Traditional Scouting units are members of the Baden-Powell Scouts.

The organisation shares the heritage of the youth Scouting Movement, but was formed in the United Kingdom (U.K.) in 1970 when it was felt that the "modernisation" of the Scout Movement was abandoning the traditions and intentions established by Lord Robert Baden-Powell in 1907. The Baden-Powell Scouts retain the belief that essence of the movement should be based on outdoor activities related to the skills of explorers, backwoodsmen and frontiersmen.

The national associations are generally members of the World Federation of Independent Scouts (WFIS).

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United Kingdom and Ireland

The BPSA was formed at least partly in reaction to the U.K. Scout Association's "Advance Party Report" (1966), which resulted in substantial changes to British Scouting, causing some British Scouts and Scouters to seek alternatives they felt were closer to Baden-Powell's original program. The organisation retains the traditional sections of Wolf Cubs, Scouts, Senior Scouts and Rover Scouts, to which Beaver Scouts have been added in recent years for the 5 to 8 age range. In the U.K. and Ireland the association is open to both males and females, and in mixed and separate sections.

Canada

The Baden-Powell Scouts Association of Canada was founded in 1998 and quickly found itself in conflict with Scouts Canada over the use of the word "Scout". The association changed its name to BPSA Canada. Soon after it was founded, the BPSA Canada suffered from internal conflicts. The result is the current organizational structure in which there are autonomous provincial associations which are members of the Canadian Federation of Independent Scouting.

United States of America

Shortly after the Baden-Powell Scouts started in Canada, the movement first appeared in America. The Baden-Powell Scout Association (BPSA-USA), is poised to launch sometime in 2006, with the Baden-Powell Scouts Association in the UK (BPSA-UK) as its parent organization.

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