Project COPE stands for "Challenging Outdoor Personal Experience". It is a program provided by the Boy Scouts of America through the Texas Trails Council for those with a desire for high adventure. COPE offers a set of stimulating activities designed to meet the needs of today's youth and adults who are seeking greater mental challenges. Group initiative games, as well as low- and high-course activities, offer a chance to solve problems and scenarios designed to test both group and individual skills. COPE provides an opportunity for each participant to achieve success by helping him or her recognize their strengths and weaknesses. Participants will learn how to use these skills to help the team and themselves. Most participants accept the challenge, stretching their abilities and comfort levels to accomplish more than they ever dreamed possible. COPE is an effective tool for attracting and keeping older boys in Scouting.

The objectives of COPE are to provide an exciting outdoor learning experience and to develop eight key skills:

• Leadership
• Teamwork
• Decision-making
• Problem-solving
• Planning
• Communications
• Trust
• Self-esteem

A successful COPE experience builds a strong bond among the team members. COPE initiatives are based on non-competitive games where everyone is a winner. Team challenges are designed to facilitate learning through events where progress is measured by performance not product. The COPE program provides an opportunity for every participant to achieve success as an individual and as a member of a team.

All participants are expected to respect the experiences of others and to have a positive mental attitude throughout the activities. No one is asked to do more than he or she is willing to undertake, but each is invited to do as much as they can, setting and striving toward their own goals and contributing to the team objectives.

COPE is not just games. Through guided discussion of the experience of each element, what was learned and what goals were achieved is just as important as the actual activity, and vital to the learning process. Games and low-course elements are a constructive prerequisite to high-course elements, and are not to be discounted. COPE is not an obstacle course, nor a physical skill eliminator. There are parts of COPE for everyone!