DART Rules

A DART Course is a QUADATHLON (a contest in four parts) which develops and test four areas of endeavor:

                      orienteering & compass directional abilities,

                        racing cross-country & hiking capacities,

                          teamwork & problem solving, and

                            coordination & shooting skills

In Webster's Dictionary, the word "DART" as an action verb has two primary meanings: 1) to move suddenly, and 2) to shoot or throw suddenly or swiftly. On a DART course, we want to move and shoot both quickly & accurately!!

The purpose of a DART course are:

     physical=strengthens aerobic and running skills

     emotional=developed self-confidence and personal skills

      social=builds team unity and leadership/followship skills

      mental=teaches problem solving, map reading and compass skills

Adult leaders follow with the Varsity Scouts, observing and helping only as neccessary.

For equipment, each team should havecompasses, pencils and paper; the following will be at the course:

MAPS for each team or participant, depending on the type of course

ORAL/WRITTEN INSTRUCTIONS to get to at least the first and maybe other Direction/Ammo stations

CODED MESSAGES (or coupons or symbols) at different Direction/Ammo stations for that DART course

BANNERS or MARKERS for each path and station on the DART couse

AMMO & CONTAINERS, RANGE MATERIALS, WEAPONS, and TARGETS as appropriate for each course

The following directions are given as general guidelines

      All teams meet together to receive general instructions and saftey procedures from the course director. At a given point, each team in turn receives a set of instructions on how to get to the first station on the DART course. They are timed from that moment until they return to the starting point. As determined by the number of teams and the layout of the course, other teams then follow at regular intervals on the course. Any DART course should last from 20 to 60 minutes (including range time). After the teams all re-assemble or after any team has had a brief rest stop, the next round on the same or another DART course could begin. Teams are ranked in order of speed for each DART course and the fastest team receives the most timed points with other teams receiving less points. Target scores for accuracy are added and the team with the highest score receives more target points with other teams receiving fewer points. Target points and timed points are added to determined the final rankings. Bonus points should be given for trash pick-up, wearing uniforms, etc. The same DART course could be rerun later that day or the next day to see which team makes the greatest improvement in their scores; or new teams or new courses could be organized for a greater varity of varsity scout games!

HAVE FUN & THINK CLEARLY & RACE QUICKLY & SHOOT ACCURATELY & SCORE HIGH!!