1. Entry into the Award Program is open to all young people and is made by registering with a participating group or with the Provincial Award Office. No activities undertaken before the entry date may count towards an Award. A young person my enter at any level, subject to the following age requirements: 
a. Bronze - 14 years of age
b. Silver - 15 years of age
c. Gold - 16 years of age
The upper age limit for all Awards is the applicant's 25th birthday, and all activities to be counted for an Award must be completed by this time.
2. For each Award, those taking part must complete activities in four sections:
a. Service,
b. Expeditions and Explorations,
c. Skills (Hobbies), and
d. Physical Recreation.
Gold Award participants must also complete a Residential Project.
A participant may not use the same activity to qualify for more that one section of the Award Program. The Award Program is meant to encourage young people to take part in four different aspects of community life, thereby fostering all around better citizenship. Check our Resources for a list of some activities you could use.
3. The minimum time requirement for each level of the Award is:
a. for Bronze - six months,
b. for Silver - twelve months, or a minimum of six months if you have achieved the Bronze Award, and
c. for Gold - eighteen months, or a minimum of twelve months if you have achieved the Silver Award.
Note that these time requirements are only the minimums, meaning you cannot complete your Award in any less than 6, 12, or 18 months. You can take longer if you so desire and there is no need to contact the office to ask for an extension. The minimums are simply the Award Program's way of encouraging its participants to stay involved with volunteering or to continue to lead an active lifestyle even when you have completed the Program requirements.
4. Please ensure that your service is spread out over the required number of months. The Award is meant to encourage regular participation in a particular service activity. The reviewer will look to see that you did service in each of the six, twelve or eighteen months. The Award program realizes that there may be some circumstances where the service being performed is unable to be carried out due to factors beyond the participant's control. However, you should not submit a Bronze Award application (requiring fifteen hours of service over six months) with 7 hours of service in June; 0 in July, August and September; 4 hours in October and 4 hours in November.
5. a. If you are planning something different for your expedition from what is outlined in the record book, please consult the Provincial Award Office. This pertains to differences in modes of travel, accommodations or distance covered, etc. Toughness of terrain as well as mode of travel may have an impact on the distance covered. Please consult the Provincial Office if you are unsure about your trip meeting the requirements. As well, all explorations and adventurous projects require prior approval by the Provincial Office.
b. Nights away should be spent camping. Where camping proves to be impossible, rough cabins, barns or huts with no amenities may be utilized. If these accommodations are used they should be in a remote location. Participants doing an expedition are also expected to change locations each night and carry all of their equipment during travel.
c. During a practice journey, the participants are expected to carry all equipment. This includes tent, sleeping gear, stoves, and enough food to prepare one meal (preferably a hot meal). This enables participants to feel the actual weight of a full pack. Participants are also expected to set up camp, cook a meal and cover a distance of 7-10 km. Participants should also use the mode of travel that they will be using on their qualifying journey.
d. For the expedition log/journal, you may use a pre-formatted log (obtained from the Provincial Office) or your may write one of your own. Please refer to the questions on pages 20-21 or your record book. Your journal should simply be a chronological sequence of events. You are encouraged to add personal thought, photos, etc. A brief write-up on your practice(s) journey(s) is also required. Remember to include the following: maps, group list, equipment list and menu.
6. A young person must only pick one skill and commit to it for the required amount of time. Some of the most popular include: playing a musical instrument, drama, art, web page design, singing, driver education programs, cooking, photography, sewing, public speaking, debating, leadership and marksmanship.
For an extensive listing of skills, please click here to visit the Duke Of Edinbugh's Award - UK Website.
7. For the Physical Recreation section, keep in mind that when your book is reviewed you can only be credited for 2 hours of activity per week. This is done to ensure there is a prolonged commitment to this activity. If you document "June 1st - 2 hours, June 2nd - 3 hours, June 3rd - 1 hour, June 7th - 1 hour," you may not get credit for all these hours if they are in the same week. All sporting activities should be recorded under Physical Recreation and not under the skill section.
8. Once you have completed all the requirements for a specific Award, you must submit your book for review. Please check carefully to ensure all assessors have signed your book and completed the assessor's reports. You must submit an Award application form along with your record book and expedition log (a printable application form can be found in our Resources). Attached to your expedition log should be several pieces of supplementary information: maps, a group list, an equipment list and a menu. Feel free to send along any photos.
a. Service: a minimum of 15 hours of service spread over six months,
b. Expeditions and Explorations: complete preliminary training, a one day practice journey and a 25 km (if hiking), one night expedition/exploration with two days of activity (minimum of six hours of activity per day),
c. Skills (Hobbies): pursue a skill of your choice for a minimum of six months, and
d. Physical Recreation: thirty hours over a minimum of fifteen weeks.
a. Service: a minimum of forty-five hours of service spread over twelve months, or a minimum of thirty hours of Service spread over six months for those who have completed the Bronze Award,
b. Expeditions and Explorations: complete preliminary training, a two day/one night practice journey and a 50 km (if hiking), two night expedition/exploration/aventurous project with three days of activity (minimum of seven hours of activity per day),
c. Skills (Hobbies): pursue a skill of your choice for a minimum of twelve months, or a minimum of six months for those who have completed their Bronze Award, and
d. Physical Recreation: forty hours over a minimum of 20 weeks.
a. Service: a minimum of ninety hours of service spread over eighteen months, or a minimum of sixty hours of Service spread over twelve months for those who have completed the Silver Award
b. Expeditions and Explorations: complete preliminary training, a two day/one night practice journey (a second one day practice journey is required for direct Gold entrants) and a 85 km (if hiking), three night expedition/exploration/aventurous project with four days of activity (minimum of eight hours of activity per day),
c. Skills (Hobbies): pursue a skill of your choice for a minimum of eighteen months, or a minimum of twelve months for those who have completed their Silver Award,
d. Physical Recreation: fifty hours over a minimum of twenty-five weeks, and
e. Residential Project: five consecutive days (four nights) or may be spread over a series of weekends provided that they spend at least four nights away in a twelve month period. Once a young person is registered in the Awards Programme, he/she may do the Residential Project at any time.