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What is Project COPE?
Project COPE (Challenging Outdoor Personal Experience) is an activity
operated for youth over the age of 13 and adults. The experience is comprised of group
initiatives, team building, problem solving, and physical challenge. Although
COPE uses some of the skills, techniques and tools of rock-climbing, it is not
a climbing course. Rather, it uses climbing situations as one of several means
to achieve its goals. These goals include the development of trust,
communication, self-esteem, leadership, decision making and
teamwork.
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The Benefits of COPE
COPE challenges participants to become more aware of
themselves and others, their strengths and limitations. For groups that already
know each other well, COPE builds on this knowledge to improve communication
and leadership skills. For newer groups -- even complete strangers -- COPE is a
great mechanism for rapidly developing a strong sense of team membership.
Beyond all these lofty objectives, COPE is FUN! Groups who have completed our
course are uniformly impressed by how much they have enjoyed the experience.
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The COPE Program
The first half of a COPE program, usually lasting
for about one day, consists of group initiative activities and events on our
"low course". This is a series of about a dozen structures, each one of which
presents a problem intended for a group solution. The climax of the low course
is a group effort to scale a 12-foot wall. The second half of a complete COPE
program is the "high course". This consists of 15 elements that require
participants to negotiate cables, swings and nets high in the air. An
elaborate, redundant safety system protects participants at all times. Some
groups, with limited time and resources, may decide to participate only in the
low course. The complete COPE experience, low and high courses, requires about
two full days.
COPE is a program of the
Dan Beard Council, Boy Scouts of America run by trained volunteers and staff.
Course Directors are BSA trained and certified to run the program. Our
instructors and staff members are locally trained. The entire COPE program of
the Dan Beard Council, our staff, facility and policies, is inspected and
certified annually. Two overriding concerns guide the staff at all times. First of all, we strive
to assure a safe experience for all participants. Just as importantly, we also
work to be sure that no one is made to feel awkward or uncomfortable during a
COPE experience. COPE is challenge by choice, meaning, at no time will any
participant be pushed into doing something he or she chooses not to do.
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Reserving COPE
The group program requires
a minimum of eight individuals to operate properly. It is difficult to
handle a group larger than 12, but they can be accommodated with
pre-planning. Although both youth and adults can benefit from
COPE, usually mixed adult and youth groups are not run
through the course at the same time.
COPE is available to non-Scout groups; corporate groups, community groups, fire departments, law enforcement groups
and school groups can often benefit from COPE.
In order to operate a COPE program, a certified COPE Director must
oversee the program. COPE instructors are also required, their number
depending on the size of the group. These staff can be provided for
your group by the COPE and Climbing Committee of the Dan Beard Council.
To reserve a COPE program for your group, contact the Dan Beard Council
at (513) 961-2336 to check availability - programs are available most
weekends between mid-August and June. If you are a Scouting group,
download the Scout COPE Registration Packet. If you are a non-Scout group, download the
Group COPE Registration Packet. Complete the forms and submit to the Scout Service Center. |
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