The 2017 Eagle Scout Rank Application was posted over the weekend of April 23. A tweet went out advertising the release of the revised application. The content of the application is basically the same with a few minor edits, detailed below.
This new application should be used going forward…but if a scout has begun working with the older application, especially if he has obtained a signature dated before 4/23/17, then it will be accepted.
- In the upper right hand corner of the application, the ‘National No.’ was change to ‘Unit No.’ (council fills out this information)
- The grayed text box at the top of the application – the year was changed from 2013 to 2016
- Date became a Venture/Sea Scout was split into two separate entities
- AGE REQUIREMENT ELIGIBILITY – ‘may be earned’ was changed to may only be earned’. ‘Scouts, Venturers, and Sea Scouts who ….’ Was made a separate paragraph.
- REQUIREMENT 3 changed to read ‘List the month, day, and year the merit badge was earned and the unit number it was earned in.’
- CYCLING OR HIKING OR SWIMMING changed to read SWIMMING OR HIKING OR CYCLING
- Last sentence at bottom of page 1 changed to read ‘You must attach the Application for Alternative Eagle Scout Rank Merit Badges for those merit badges earned in place of the Eagle required badge(s).’
- REQUIREMENT 4: Split Venturing crew/ship as separate programs and added the correct positions of responsibility for each respective program.
- After REQUIREMENT 6, the Note, In preparation for … The text box outline was removed and the statement was moved after ‘CERITIFICATION BY APPLICATION’ and before the ‘Signature of applicant.’
- The print date at the bottom right of page 2 was changed to April 2017 Printing.
All of this would not fit in a tweet and was too late to put in the just released Advancement News for May – June. However, there will be an article in the next issue regarding these changes. It will also be explained that the 2016 version of the ESRA is still valid and a transition period is allowed. However, the 2016 ESRA is no longer available from the National or Council websites.