Required Training
The table below contains all of our imporant training dates in (we hope) easy-to-read format. Further down, you will find a more detailed description of all of our training days/workshops.
Training Process |
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| Welcome Meeting | Feb. 24, 7 - 9 pm |
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First Skills Workshops Week (each flock will meet only once) |
March 2 - 5, 7:30 - 9:30 pm, Memorial Hall |
| Skills Day One | March 15, 9 am - 1 pm |
| WFR | March 22 - March 30 |
| AEE Conference | April 11 - 13 |
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Second Skills Worshop Week (each flock will meet only once) |
April 27 - 30, 7:30 - 9:30 pm |
| Skills Day Two | April 6, 9 am - 4 pm |
| Intern Trip | April 25 - 27 |
| Lifeguarding: Switch Only | Tuesdays, 7:30-9:30pm @MAC. Begins March 4th. 7-week course. |
| Canoe Day | May 3, 12 - 4 pm |
| Training Trip Send-Off Dinner | May 8, 6 - 8 pm |
| Early Training Trip | May 23 - June 1 |
| Late Training Trip | May 25 - June 3 |
| Pre-Fop/FOP | Aug. 26th (Switch) or Aug. 27th (Classic) - Sept. 6 |
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Leader Medical Form! Must be turned in by April 4th. Schedule your doctor's appointment ASAP. |
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TT Equipment List. Come to the ER to borrow stuff (so look for our emails!) |
Skills Days: Training involves two skills days: the first will be on Saturday March 15 from 9 am – 1 pm; the second will be on Sunday April 6 from 9 am – 4 pm . These events will involve skills workshops, games, and team-building activities.
Workshops: Trainees are requred to attend a total of two weeknight workshops throughout Spring 2007. All trainees and interns will be assigned, based on availability, to a weeknight (Sunday - Wednesday) when they will meet from 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm during the weeks of March 2 - 5 and April 27 - 30. At these two meetings, current leaders will teach a skills workshop on a topic such as stove use, knots and tarps, or maps and route-planning.
Volunteer Hours: Every leader trainee is expected to contribute 6 volunteer hours to FOP, helping out in the day-to-day functioning of the FOP program.
Training Trips: Training trips are the culmination of the Spring training program. Each trip is 10 days long and leaves Harvard after the end of final exams in May (either May 23 - June 1 or May 25 - June 3). Training trips include a 2-day Wilderness First Aid course and a week of backpacking and canoeing (Switch only). These trips are wonderful opportunities to learn, teach, and become familiar with all the responsibilities of leading a FOP trip. During these trips, trip leaders will train leader trainees and make sure they feel comfortable teaching technical skills and living in the woods. Note that these trips are an evaluative process. Final selection as a FOP leader occurs after the culmination of the trips.
Switch: Switch leaders have several responsibilities in addition to the above list. They must attend a Lifeguard Certification course, offered on Tuesdays at the MAC in the spring, and also must attend an extra canoe skills training day held in the MAC on May 3. If selected to become leaders, Switch leaders return to Cambridge in the fall a day earlier than the rest of the leader pool (i.e., August 26th) in order to attend an extra canoe training day.
Intern Trip: Some leader trainees will participate in the intern trip, a two-night camping trip April 25 - April 27 designed to increase one's comfort in the outdoors.
PreFOP/Trips: Switch leaders will return on the 26th of August and all other leaders will return on the 27th for preFOP. PreFOP will last until August 30th and freshmen will come on Sunday, August 31st. Trips will leave on September 1st and return on the 6th.
Optional Training
In addition to the required training events, FOP also offers many opportunities to supplement the training process. Please note that selection as a FOP leader is not determined by whether you attend; however, we do believe that training is an important aspect of developing leadership skills and encourage anyone that is interested to take advantage of these opportunities.
Advanced Skills Workshops: Throughout the semester, FOP will hold some fun, informal gatherings known as Advanced Skills Workshops, or ASWs. They will be used to cover more advanced topics in outdoor and leadership skills, and to socialize and get to know the leader community.
WFR: There will be a Wilderness First Responder (WFR) course offered during the week of Spring Break. This course provides an opportunity for leaders to get additional emergency medical training. Harvard undergrads can take the course at a reduced cost.
A Note on Final Selection
Final selection as a FOP leader does not take place till after the completion of Training Trips. Final selection as a leader depends on confidence that a leader trainee will be able and comfortable in a position to fully lead a FOP trip in the fall. After the completion of training, Leader Trainees may be offered spots as leaders, assistant leaders, or may be asked not to lead FOP.