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Order of the Arrow
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Running an induction weekend

The Ordeal is the one experience every member has in common, and the single strongest predictor of whether a new Arrowman ever comes back. Plan it as the centrepiece of your year rather than a date on the calendar.

Order of the Arrow — 2023 Operation ArrowOrder of the Arrow, Scouting America · 2023 Operation Arrow
DeliveryReviewed June 2026
Two policies apply to every induction weekend
Youth protection and event supervision standards are not lodge-discretionary. See Policy updates → Induction & Ordeal for what is current.

The four phases

Most lodges that struggle with inductions are strong in one phase and thin in another. Audit yours honestly.

01Call outElected candidates are recognised publicly and told, clearly and in writing, what happens next and when.Weeks before
02PrepareStaffing, service projects, ceremonies, food, medical, and the candidate communications that decide who actually shows up.8–12 weeks out
03InductThe weekend itself — service, reflection, ceremony, and the first real impression of what the Order is.The weekend
04Follow throughThe month after. New members either get invited into something specific or quietly disappear.0–30 days after

Planning checklist

Counted back from the weekend itself. Lodges that miss a weekend almost always missed one of the first three rows.

12 weeks
Lock the date and the camp
Confirm the reservation and the ranger, and check it against council and school calendars before publishing.
Lodge Chief
10 weeks
Confirm service projects
Walk the projects with the ranger. Every crew needs real work sized to the time available and the tools on hand.
Vice Chief
8 weeks
Staff the weekend
Elangomat assignments, ceremony teams, kitchen, and the trained adults required for supervision and medical coverage.
Adviser
6 weeks
Write to candidates and parents
Arrival time, packing list, fees, what the weekend involves, and a named person to call with questions.
Secretary
2 weeks
Confirm numbers and food
Headcount for meals, dietary needs, accommodations requested, and medical forms received.
Vice Chief
Week after
Invite every new member to something
A specific date, a specific event, a specific person expecting them. This single step drives retention more than anything else on this list.
Lodge Chief
Take this to your next LEC meeting
The same checklist as a one-page PDF, with blank owner and date columns to fill in as you assign them. Print one per officer.
Download the checklist (PDF)

The candidate experience

A candidate arrives knowing almost nothing and leaves having decided whether this organisation is for them. These are the moments that decide it.

ArrivalBeing met by nameCandidates who are greeted individually settle in far faster than those who are processed at a table.
The workWork that obviously mattersCandidates can tell the difference between a project the camp needed and one invented to fill a morning.
The nightBeing looked afterQuiet checks, water, and warm bedding are what parents ask about afterwards — and what candidates remember.
DepartureKnowing what comes nextA member who leaves without a date in their calendar is a member you will spend a year trying to find again.

Where lodges get this wrong

1
Treating the weekend as the finish line
The induction is the start of membership. Lodges that plan the weekend brilliantly and plan nothing for the following month lose most of that class within a year.
2
Under-communicating with parents
Vague messaging about an induction weekend makes cautious families cautious. Say plainly what the weekend involves, who is supervising, and how to reach someone.
3
Thin service projects
Service is the substance of the Ordeal, not a way to occupy candidates. Weak projects undercut everything the ceremonies say.
4
Running on the same six people
If the weekend depends on a handful of veterans, it will fail the year they age out. Build the staff a season ahead.

Resources for this area

These are artifacts, not policy — each was made by someone on a date, and the older ones say so. Anything superseded stays listed with what replaced it.

Form 2 pages

Weekend medical and accommodation form

Collects medical needs and accommodation requests ahead of arrival.

Induction weekends Updated Mar 2026
Guide 24 pages

Induction weekend planning guide

The full planning sequence from date selection through the month after the weekend.

Induction weekends Updated Jan 2026
Document 1 page

Candidate and parent letter template

A fill-in letter covering arrival, packing, fees, and who to call with questions.

Induction weekends Updated Sep 2025
Deck 18 slides

Elangomat orientation slides

Briefing deck for the members who will guide candidates through the weekend.

Induction weekends Updated Apr 2025
Recording 47 min

Preparing your ceremony teams

Casting, rehearsal, and honest evaluation for lodges whose ceremony teams are thin.

Induction weekends Recorded Mar 2024
Session from NLATS, Central Region
Superseded Recording · 52 min

Running an induction weekend at capacity

Guidance recorded while attendance caps were in force. The caps have since been lifted.

Induction weekends Recorded Jun 2021
Replaced by the 2026 planning guide
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Need a hand with your induction program?
Arrowmen from other lodges who have run inductions themselves will sit down with your officers. They are volunteers, nothing is scored, and no report leaves your lodge.
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