GLEN JEAN, W.Va. — In addition to meeting and interacting with their counterparts from more than 150 nations, participants at the ongoing 24th World Scout Jamboree at Summit Bechtel Reserve are taking advantage of an on-site venue for one of the most popular traditions of the scouting world: patch trading.
What started nearly a century ago as a way to signify friendship across state and international boundaries has become something of a worldwide frenzy, according to many long-time patch collectors, such as Scout Leader-Trainer Neil Bailey, a dual citizen of the United States and Hong Kong, who has attended scouting events in several countries. Bailey told MetroNews he’s noticed the dynamics of patch trading have changed in some fundamental ways, over the years.
“No kids, before. Mostly, it was all adults. No kids were really trading,” he said. “And of course, there weren’t as many badges. (The United Kingdom) issued a hundred contingent badges, just for one country. So, it gets a bit crazy. Like everything else in our world, it just keeps expanding and expanding.”
Though the advent of internet communication and social media platforms have provided expanded avenues for acquiring patches, Bailey said he much prefers the traditional method of in-person transacting and surveying rows of blankets spread out on the ground, with individual patches and elaborate patch sets on display. Additionally, he said there are reasons to be wary of online patch purchases.
“Anything that you throw online, somebody else who doesn’t know what they’re doing will put a price on it, and the price will be way too high. So, what’s happening is a lot of things are being sold online which you can buy in the scout shop for a third less. So, its kind of corrupted the selling of patches,” said Bailey.
Eagle Scout and Madison, West Virginia resident Jarren Cook, who attended the two previous national jamborees at Summit Bechtel Reserve, said he recognized the value of patch trading both as a hobby and as a way to promote the universal values of personal integrity and respect for others, soon after joining the Boy Scouts of America in 2012.
“You really get connected with people who believe in the things you think are important in life,” he said. “It teaches fairness and honesty.”
Volunteer members of the International Scouting Collectors Association are attending the jamboree to provide guidance for novice traders and to promote the educational aspects of the scouting memorabilia tradition and the ethics of fair trade.
The ISCA has established the following guidelines for patch trading:
- Use the buddy system. Always have a friend or group with you, to make sure you’re safe at the Jamboree, especially in large and confusing crowds.
- Youth should trade with youth, adults with adults. Youth can trade with adults if an adult unit leader is present to observe and approve the transaction.
- Do not trade any award or rank patches. Scouting knots, religious medals, or badges of office should not be traded. Doing so violates the Rules and Regulations of the Boy Scouts of America.
- Do not trade on paths or on steps.
An extensive collection of scout patches, along with a chronology of past National and World Scout Jamborees, is on permanent display at the J.W. and Hazel Ruby West Virginia Welcome Center in Mount Hope.