AS GIRLS JOIN, BOY SCOUTS CHANGE PROGRAM’S NAME

The change will be effective in February. Girls have begun being admitted into the Cub Scouts, and they will be allowed into the program for 11- to 17-year-olds next year.

NEW YORK» For 108 years, the Boy Scouts of America’s flagship program has been known simply as the Boy Scouts. With girls soon entering the ranks, the group says that iconic name will change.

The organization on Wednesday announced a new name for its Boy Scouts program: Scouts BSA. The change will take effect in February.

Chief Scout Executive Mike Surbaugh said many possibilities were considered during lengthy and “incredibly fun” deliberations before the new name was chosen.

“We wanted to land on something that evokes the past but also conveys the inclusive nature of the program going forward,” he said. “We’re trying to find the right way to say we’re here for both young men and young women.”

The parent organization will remain the Boy Scouts of America, and the Cub Scouts — its program serving children from kindergarten through fifth grade — will keep its title, as well.

But the Boy Scouts — the program for 11to 17-year-olds — will now be Scouts BSA.

The organization has started admitting girls into the Cub Scouts, and Scouts BSA begins accepting girls next year.

Surbaugh predicted boys and girls in Scouts BSA would refer to themselves simply as Scouts, rather than adding “boy” or “girl.”

The program for the older boys and girls largely will be divided along gender lines, with single-gender units pursuing the same types of activities, earning the same array of merit badges and potentially having the same pathway to the Eagle Scout award.

Surbaugh said having separate units for boys and girls should alleviate concerns that girls joining the BSA for the first time might be at a disadvantage in seeking leadership opportunities.

So far, more than 3,000 girls have joined 170 Cub Scout packs participating in the first phase of the new policy, and the pace will intensify this summer.