Square knot insignia

Square knot insignia are embroidered cloth patches that represent awards of the Scout associations throughout the world.

The Scout Association of the United Kingdom uses a "figure-eight" knot and many Scouting organizations of the Commonwealth countries follow suit. The World Organization of the Scout Movement uses military-style ribbons. The Boy Scouts of America a square knot made of colored ropes is depicted; the colors are generally dictated by the award the insignia is associated with.^[1]^[2].

History

In the earliest days of the Scouting Movement military veterans were urged into service as Scoutmasters. The first Scout uniforms therefore resembled military uniforms. It was common for these veterans to wear their military decorations on their modified Boy Scout uniform — a national uniform was not to be developed until the early 1920s.^[2]

Military tradition dictated that the actual medal from a military award was only worn on ceremonial occasions — at other times, it was replaced with a thin ribbon bar with the same ribbon style as found attached to the medal. This carried over to Scouting, whose awards were medals, similar to the military, but were most often worn as ribbons.

The first country to switch over from military ribbons to a unique parallel was the United Kingdom, which introduced its knot emblems in 1922.^[3]

Boy Scouts of America

The Boy Scouts of America likewise moved away from allowing Scouters to wear military ribbons, but kept the style, introducing their own ribbons in place of medals in 1934. The BSA introduced its own square knot insignia in lieu of the military-style ribbons in 1947. The choice of the square knot as the common emblem was made by James E. West, who is said to have chosen it for its use as the knot associated with first aid, thereby reminding Scouts to continue to be of service to others.^[2]

The first eight awards with square knot insignia in the BSA were the Eagle Scout Award, Quartermaster Award, Scouter's Training Award, Scouter's Key, Silver Beaver Award, Silver Antelope Award, Silver Buffalo Award, and Honor Medal.

Since the introduction of square knot insignia, over forty new awards have been added, then combined, and some retired. Currently, there are 32 nationally authorized square knot insignia representing various medals, medallions, certificates, plaques, and other awards.

There are a few cases of local Council-approved square knots and various popular unofficial or spoof knots.

In the BSA, Square knot insignia are worn in rows of three across the top of the wearer's left pocket. Though there is no rule limiting the number of such insignia that may be worn, some suggest limiting to three rows of three. When fewer than 3 knots are worn in a particular row, knots are generally centered to the pocket, or the row below them.^[4]

Dates indicated in the chart below indicate the use of the square knot insignia for the particular award, and may not correspond to the history of the award itself. For example, the first Eagle Scout Award was presented in 1912, and there was a ribbon bar for it from 1934, and it was among the first eight awards given square knot insignia in 1947, so that later date is indicated.

Achievement Awards

These awards are generally earned by the Scouts themselves.
These represent the highest youth rank or achievement in each respective branch of the BSA.

Insignia	Title	Started	Description
	Arrow of Light (Cub Scouts)	1979
	Eagle Scout Award (Boy Scouts)	1947
	Eagle Scout with Life Membership in NESA	2008
	Silver Award / Summit Award (Venturing)	1999
	Quartermaster Award (Sea Scouts)	1947

Distinguished service

These awards are generally granted via nomination and review; they cannot be earned or applied for by Scouts or Scouters directly.

Insignia	Title	Started	Description
	District Award of Merit	1971
	Silver Beaver Award	1947
	Silver Antelope Award	1947
	Silver Buffalo Award	1947
	Silver World Award	1976

Heroism

These awards are generally granted via nomination and review; they cannot be earned or applied for by Scouts or Scouters directly.

Insignia	Title	Started	Description
	Medal of Merit	1952
	Honor Medal	1947

Leadership and training

These awards are generally earned by the Scouters themselves.

Insignia	Title	Started	Description
	Den Leader Training Award	1989
	Unit Leader Award of Merit	2010
	Scouter's Training Award	1947
	Scouter's Key	1947
	Commissioner Award of Excellence in Unit Service	2011
	Doctorate of Commissioner Science	2008
	Philmont Training Center Masters Track Award	2008
	Professional Training Award	1980

Specialized achievements

These awards are generally earned by the Scouts and Scouters themselves.
In one case (James West Fellowships) nomination by others is also possible, and in the case of the Hornaday Gold Medal (as opposed to the Bronze and Silver Medals) nomination is necessary.

Insignia	Title	Started	Description
	Alumni Award	2011
	International Scouter Award	2002
	James E. West Fellowship	1993
	William D. Boyce New-Unit Organizer Award	2005
	William T. Hornaday Medals^[5]	1991
	Youth Religious Emblems^[6]	1971

Specialized service recognition

These awards are generally granted via nomination and review; they cannot be earned or applied for by Scouts or Scouters directly.

Insignia	Title	Started	Description
	Adult Religious Awards^[7]	1973
	Community Organization Awards^[8]	2002
	Distinguished Commissioner Service Award	1987
	Order of the Arrow Distinguished Service Award	1976
	Scouting Service Awards ^[9]	2017
	Venturing Leadership Award	2004

Discontinued

In some cases these awards have been discontinued; in others they have been combined to be represented by a different award knot.

Title	Started	Ended
Air Scout Ace Award	1950	1954
Asian American Spirit of Scouting Award	2003	2016
Cubmaster Award	1989	2012
Cub Scouter Award	1989	2012
Den Leader Coach Award	1989	2012
Exploring Ranger Award	1933	1951
Exploring Silver Award	1954	1958
Exploring Awards Knot^[10]	1954	1998
George Meany AFL-CIO Award	1987	2011
Heroism Award	1983	2013
Pack Trainer Award	2006	2011
Sea Badge	1989	2012
Tiger Cub Den Leader Award	1992	2012
Scoutmaster Award of Merit	1987	2010
Venturing Advisor / Varsity Coach Award of Merit	1999	2010
¡Scouting…Vale la Pena! Service Award	2003	2016
Skipper's Key	1947	1949
Webelos Den Leader Award	1989	2012
Whitney M. Young Jr. Service Award	1989	2016
William H. Spurgeon III Award	1989	2007

The Scout Association (UK)

The British Scout Association introduced the idea of a cloth 'knot' insignia in 1922, modeled after the military use of ribbons to represent medals and other citations. Many of the Scouting organizations of the Commonwealth of Nations either copy the British system or simply use the British awards and insignia.

Gallantry

Title	Started	Description
Bronze Cross	Year	Desc
Silver Cross	Year	Desc
Gilt Cross	Year	Desc
Cornwell Scout Badge	Year	Desc

Meritorious Conduct

Insignia	Title	Started	Description
	Medal for Meritorious Conduct	Year	Desc
	Chief Scout's Commendation for Meritorious Conduct	Year	Desc

Service

Title	Started	Description
Silver Wolf	Year	Desc
Silver Acorn	Year	Desc
Award for Merit	Year	Desc
Chief Scout's Commendation for Good Service	Year	Desc
Chief Scout's Personal Award	Year	Desc
Commissioner's Commendation Award	Year	Desc
Length of Service Decoration	Year	Desc

World Organization of the Scout Movement

Insignia	Title	Started	Description
	Bronze Wolf Award	1935	The World Organization of the Scout Movement offers only one award to scouters, the Bronze Wolf Award and it is considered the highest honor that can be bestowed on an adult scout leader throughout the world. There is approximately one award given for every 2,000,000 scouts.

External links

"Awards Central". Scouting.org. Boy Scouts of America.
"Awards-Knots". U.S. Scouting Service Project, Inc. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
Crowl, George. "Illustrated History of BSA Square Knot Evolution". BSA Badge History.
Crowl, George. "Knots, Pins, and Insignia of the Boy Scouts of America". Crowl Family Webpages. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
Kauffmann, Michael. "Scouter Knots". MeritBadge.org.
Walton, Mike. "Knot Emblems of the BSA". Badge and Uniform Site.
Whitman, Gary (2014). Ribbon Bars & Knot Awards of the Boy Scouts of America (7th ed.). CreateSpace. ISBN 978-1499201277.

References

↑ "Guide to Awards and Insignia". Boy Scouts of America. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
1 2 3 "Square Knot Insignia used by the Boy Scouts of America". 1 October 1999. Archived from the original on 14 May 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2007.
↑ Crowl, George (2005). Knot Awards of Non-US Scouting Associations (11 ed.). Jersey Village, TX. p. 5.
↑ "In the Loop: A Guide to Square Knots and How to Wear Them". 20 October 2012. Retrieved 27 Feb 2017.
↑ This knot represents the three Hornaday medals (bronze and silver for youth, gold for adults), but is not worn in place of the badges (bronze for youth, gold for adults) or certificates (units and organizations). See "Hornaday Awards". Boy Scouts of America.
↑ As of March 2018, there were 36 religions and denominations that sponsored religious emblems programs for youth, many with different emblems for different ages of youth. This knot represents any of those.
↑ As of March 2018, there were 34 religions and churches or denominations which sponsored awards for adult service to scouting in that faith. This knot represents any of those 34 distinct awards, which are not offered by scouting, but by the church or religion itself. See "Adult Religious Awards". US Scouting Service Project.
↑ As of March 2018, there were 20 secular community orgaanizations which sponsored awards for adult service to scouting in that organization. This knot represents any of those 20 distinct awards, which are not offered by Scouting, but by the community orgnaization itself. See "Community Organization Awards". Boy Scouts of America.
↑ As of March 2018, there were 5 distinct awards represented by this knot, each focused on service to a particular, traditionally under-served demographic: African-American, Asian-American, Latino-American, Native American, and Special Needs youth. See "Scouting Service Award Combines Five Awards into One Cool Square Knot". 17 Feb 2017. Retrieved 27 Feb 2017.
↑ This knot has represented several different awards, many overlapping: Silver Award 1954-1986; Ranger 1978-1996; Ace 1978-1996; Explorer Achievement Award 1986-1995; Young American Award 1995-1996; Exploring G.O.L.D. Award 1995-1998.

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[BSA-1] "Guide to Awards and Insignia". Boy Scouts of America. Retrieved 10 June 2013.

[walton-2] 1 2 3 "Square Knot Insignia used by the Boy Scouts of America". 1 October 1999. Archived from the original on 14 May 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2007.

[3] Crowl, George (2005). Knot Awards of Non-US Scouting Associations (11 ed.). Jersey Village, TX. p. 5.

[Bryan-4] "In the Loop: A Guide to Square Knots and How to Wear Them". 20 October 2012. Retrieved 27 Feb 2017.

[5] This knot represents the three Hornaday medals (bronze and silver for youth, gold for adults), but is not worn in place of the badges (bronze for youth, gold for adults) or certificates (units and organizations). See "Hornaday Awards". Boy Scouts of America.

[6] As of March 2018, there were 36 religions and denominations that sponsored religious emblems programs for youth, many with different emblems for different ages of youth. This knot represents any of those.

[7] As of March 2018, there were 34 religions and churches or denominations which sponsored awards for adult service to scouting in that faith. This knot represents any of those 34 distinct awards, which are not offered by scouting, but by the church or religion itself. See "Adult Religious Awards". US Scouting Service Project.

[8] As of March 2018, there were 20 secular community orgaanizations which sponsored awards for adult service to scouting in that organization. This knot represents any of those 20 distinct awards, which are not offered by Scouting, but by the community orgnaization itself. See "Community Organization Awards". Boy Scouts of America.

[Bryan2-9] As of March 2018, there were 5 distinct awards represented by this knot, each focused on service to a particular, traditionally under-served demographic: African-American, Asian-American, Latino-American, Native American, and Special Needs youth. See "Scouting Service Award Combines Five Awards into One Cool Square Knot". 17 Feb 2017. Retrieved 27 Feb 2017.

[10] This knot has represented several different awards, many overlapping: Silver Award 1954-1986; Ranger 1978-1996; Ace 1978-1996; Explorer Achievement Award 1986-1995; Young American Award 1995-1996; Exploring G.O.L.D. Award 1995-1998.

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