Boys club no more: Manassas girl is one of the first in the nation to join Cub Scouts

MANASSAS — Katherine has made a total of six pinewood derby cars with her father.

She loves to build and to race them, so she came to the most natural place do to it — the Cub Scouts.

On Thursday, the 10-year-old Manassas student who attends George C. Round Elementary School became one of the first girls in the nation to join the Cub Scouts, an organization that until this week had been reserved only for boys ages 5 to 10 years old.

Katherine told us she’d rather be working with her hands than doing her makeup. Of course, when she’s not on the relaxing on the couch.

“Sometimes I like to watch TV, but other than that I love to climb. Run around. Play some soccer. I’m joining the school basketball team,” said Katherine.

Katherine was a Girl Scout, but quit going to meetings so that she could to pursue another hobby — karate. Now she joins her 12-year-old brother Christopher who is already a member of the pack.

Katherine told us:

“With Girl Scouts, you didn’t get to do that much. You didn’t go camping that often. It wasn’t really fair, and I think girls are supposed to be treated equal with men.”

Katherine’s mom, Yesnly Bolton, says, with both children now in the same Cub Scout pack, she’s looking forward to more family activities together. The Cub Scouts are where her child belongs, she told us.

“I don’t have any problem as long as she feels comfortable and she likes what she is doing. If she is having a good time, it doesn’t matter if it’s with the boys or the girls. I will be with her.

Pack 1204 here in Manassas is an early adopter when it comes to integrating girls and boys. It rolled out its “family Cub Scouts” program this week. While the pack is now co-ed, there will sperate boys and girls groups within the pack, called dens.

Rob Hoitt, with the National Captial Boy Scouts of America,  said this pack couldn’t wait until to begin allowing girls to join.

“National rollout will not be until September. Our program runs from September to June, and so most units are going to start when the September timeframe rolls around. But we had a chance to do it early, and to us, that seemed like a no-brainer. It’s a real chance to offer this to as many people as possible.”

When its rolled out to the entire scouting organization later this year, in Boy Scouts, there will separate boys and girls programs.

The same segregated versions will be offered to Cub Scouts, in addition to the Cub Scouts integrated family program.

The goal, according to the Boy Scouts, is to make the organization more accessible to families.

For years, the Boy Scouts has offered a co-ed program for girls between the ages of 14 and 20 years old. Hoitt said he’s been helping to facilitate that program for more than 20 years.

“Most of the young ladies I know have either been Girl Scouts as well, and worked on their advancement, or had been a Girl Scout but really wanted some of the opportunities our program provided.

Each Cub Scout pack that wants to integrate into the family model will need at least four girls to join. Pack 1204 says they’ve taken to social media, as well as talked to friends and family to encourage more girls to join them every Thursday night at 7 o’clock at the LIONS Club on Sunnygate Drive just outside Manassas.