Elizabeth Udovich was really nervous.
She and her fellow Scouts in Troop 848 of Coppell, Texas, were swimming, running and cycling in the Monster Triathlon, a challenge that culminated weeks of working on Scouting America’s new Multisport merit badge.
“I didn’t know how to ride a bike before this,” the 12-year-old Scout says. “The day of the triathlon, I could tell we were all nervous, but we were trying to hide it.”
The anxiety slowly melted away as the Scouts relied on their training throughout the event. In the end, the cycling section turned out not to be as challenging as they thought.
“Now I’m pretty good at riding a bike, and I’m proud of myself,” Elizabeth says.
The Multisport merit badge
Multisport is an athletic competition featuring a combination of two or more sports. The Multisport merit badge challenges Scouts to choose from the sports of swimming, biking and running.
This merit badge, which debuted earlier this year, and its accompanying pamphlet were made possible by Distinguished Eagle Scout and Silver Buffalo Award recipient Dave Alexander, an accomplished multisport athlete and longtime supporter of Scouting America.
USA Triathlon, the national governing body for triathlon, duathlon and other multisport events in the United States, also provided content for the pamphlet. You can download the pamphlet for free.
Scouts from across the country have been working on this badge and participating in local events or organizing their own. The requirements call for Scouts to develop and follow a four-week training regimen to prepare for a multisport event.
Training pays off
Though the Scouts of Troop 848 had practiced regularly leading up to the triathlon, race-day jitters still started to affect them.
“I was thinking that I’m not ready. I’m cooked chicken,” says Christina Stephens, 13, a Second Class Scout. “Then I saw my friend Keya, and we did some warmups. And that helped calm the nerves. After the swimming, I felt I was going to be fine.”
For each sport, the Scouts not only had family members in the crowd holding handmade signs and cheering them on, but they also had each other.
“During the swim, I kept hearing someone yell, ‘Go, Keya!’” says Keya Ramalingam, 14, a Life Scout. “I remember thinking that someone wants me to finish this. It was Christina. She was sacrificing her hard-earned breath on me. She’s too kind.”
“Every breath I’d take when I came up from the water, I’d cheer her on,” Christina says.
Many of the Scouts were exhausted when they reached the finish line, but they felt accomplished.
New perspectives
Completing the Multisport merit badge helped the Scouts examine other areas in their lives. They’re more enthusiastic about exercising now. Some want to run more triathlons or use what they’ve learned to prepare for other events.
“It supported me with training for Philmont,” says Evelyn Eden, 13, a Second Class Scout.
Since this isn’t a merit badge you can complete quickly, it helped them appreciate the process of learning and training.
“When I was younger, I wanted to get Eagle and get all the merit badges I could,” Keya says. “But my insight on that has changed. It’s really nice to focus on the process. It was really worth it to do this with all my friends and have the great support system.”
You can hear more about the troop’s experience working on the Multisport merit badge here:
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