What is the Award?
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The Award is entirely voluntary. And every Award is different. Each Participant chooses what activities they want to take part in for each Section. It is a very personal program that offers young people a structure to fulfill their passions and ambitions, in a way that suits them. Apart from the requirements for each Section, and the safety training requirements for the Adventurous Journey Section, what activities a Participant chooses to undertake is entirely up to them. They have the freedom to progress through The Award according to their personal needs and abilities.
What do you need to do to run the Award?
As an Award Coordinator or Assessor, your role is to guide and mentor your Participants, helping to set achievable goals and to offer encouragement along the way. For a Participant to gain an Award, they must show commitment, progress and improvement. Sometimes Participants may start The Award, only to stop part way through. Being there to encourage them to continue, even after a break, is one way you can be there for your Participants. Remember, it is not a sprint, but a marathon, and while many young people can complete The Award through effort over consecutive months, others may take longer and that’s ok.
Some people running The Award don’t realise that the program is complementary to many other activities that young people may already be doing. These could be anything from participation in other community organisations, such as Scouts, Surf Life Saving or WWF, to taking music lessons, to competing in a team sport. So long as these activities are substantially in the Participant’s own time, that they require regular effort, and they are able to have some goals attached to them, then they can be counted towards The Award. This is very important for time poor young people to be aware of - they may already be doing one or more activities that could count towards an Award and not know.
How do you register a participant for the Award?
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Registration in The Award program is by mutual agreement from the Award Participant (young person) and the relevant Award Authority. The Award Authority is usually a Licenced Operator, however some participants may undertake The Award independently, and interface directly with their State or Territory Award Office.
To register, a participant may have to pay a small fee. This differs in each State and Territory, so please contact your State or Territory Award Office for fees and payment processes.
Once registered, a Participant receives a Record Book from their Coordinator. There are separate Record Books for each level of The Award. A completed Record Book is the basis for a participant achieving and receiving an Award, so care must be taken by participants to keep this record safe. The Record Book is transferable between States and Territories, and other countries, should a participant move during the course of an Award.
Please note that the Record Book will be coming online in 2009. Your State/Territory Award Authority will keep you informed about launch dates and training for the new system.