In just a few short weeks the first National Induction weekend will take place; the virtual event branded as Momentum: Spark on November 6th and 7th will provide an opportunity for Scouts from across the country to be inducted and meet fellow Arrowmen from different lodges and even from different regions. There will also be opportunities for current members to receive high quality inductions and activation training, and welcome these new members on Saturday evening.
On October 1st, national leadership held a call to discuss Momentum: Spark among other initiatives that they are pursuing. Both Zach Schonfeld, the 2020 National Chief, and Noah Smith, the 2020 National Vice Chief, spoke about the first of a kind event and explained that the event will be a partnership between the national organization and local lodges, with each handling different parts of the planning for the weekend. A recording of this call can be found here.
National will be handling the program during the weekend, while lodges will be responsible for more of the logistical elements. Some of the programs to be put on during the weekend will include the Pre-Ordeal, the Ordeal ceremony and an engaging program for Saturday night.
The logistical things lodges will have to do include the recruitment of candidates, delivering the sashes and lodge flaps to candidates as well as the administration of the four tests of the Ordeal. Lodges will handle the four tests to such an extent that lodges will be able to adapt to their local mandates. Some lodges may have the ability to organize service projects, while others may not and will have to work with candidates individually to find projects. You can find a checklist of what the lodge is responsible for, as well as other resources for planning and promoting Momentum: Spark here. Lodges will also be provided a flyer promoting the Saturday night Momentum: Spark to print and distribute with candidates’ sash and flap. This flyer is available on the Momentum website.
Registration for Momentum: Spark will depend on how you want to attend the event. Candidate, elangomat, and recent inductee registration will be free and handled by the lodge contingent in NOAERS. Instructions for your lodge contingent in NOAERS can be found here. One important update is that recent lodge inductees will be provided complimentary access to the Momentum: Spark program. Please register any new members in your lodge who have been inducted between August 1st, 2020 and the beginning of the Momentum: Spark event as “recent inductees” when you register your lodge contingent for Momentum: Spark. Current members can register for free as basic delegates to access the program live, or pay $15 for the premium delegate experience. Premium delegates will receive access to an archive of the streamed content, access to the Momentum community platform, the opportunity to participate in the event-wide game, and a special event patch. Further information can be found at momentum.oa-bsa.org.