Alcohol - Beer and other alcoholic beverages are prohibited in Boy Scouts of America Scout camps such as Northwoods Scout Reservation, the site of the Michigan International Camporee. All camporee participants, adults as well as youth, will be required to follow that rule. Furthermore, the minimum legal age for drinking beer and other alcoholic beverages in Michigan is 21. All camporee participants who are under the age of 21 will be required to make a commitment to obey that law during the entire time they are in Michigan. This includes their home stay week as well as the week of the international camporee. We realize that customs are different in other countries and many camporee participants who are of legal drinking age in their home country would like to participate in the same activities that they do at home. However, the ultimate responsibility for all our guest Scouts and leaders lies with the Chief Okemos Council and the Boy Scouts of America, and a situation in which police would discover underage drinking among participants in next summer's camporee, with the resulting publicity, could jeopardize similar events in the future.
Tobacco - In Michigan, the minimum age to legally purchase cigarettes
is 18. Since all our youth participants will be under 18, we expect that
they will be obeying that law and that there will be no smoking by youth
participants during home stays or at our camporee. The Personal
Information Sheet asks adult leaders whether you plan to smoke while you are in
Michigan. The reason we ask that question is that some of our Scout
families maintain smoke-free homes and we want to make sure that we place any
adult leader who plans to smoke with a host family where that is not a problem. Northwoods Scout Reservation, the site of our camporee, is designated as a
no-smoking area. Camporee participants who are 18 and over and want to
smoke will be directed to acceptable locations for smoking just off our
property.
Health And Accident Insurance - We will purchase health and accident
insurance through the Boy Scouts of America for all our international Scouts and
leaders for the time you will be in Michigan. This insurance covers
medical treatment for any injury or illness that occurs while your Scouts and
leaders are in Michigan. It does not, however, cover medical treatment for
the recurrence of pre-existing conditions, like old injuries or illnesses.
We recommend that you check the family health insurance plans of your Scouts and
leaders and find out if these plans can be used while you are in the US.
If this insurance can be used in the US, carry information about the insurance
and the method for making claims for each Scout on your trip with you. International groups will be expected to pay for any medical treatment for your
members that is not covered by insurance.