We have developed these FAQs with the details that are currently known. These FAQs will be continuously updated with additional details.
Last Updated: April 16, 2024
General FAQs
The National Order of the Arrow Conference (NOAC) is the flagship national Order of the Arrow event. It is generally held every two years at a major university campus and is attended by 4,000 to 8,000 Arrowmen from all 50 states and across the world. It is second only to the BSA National Jamboree in size and scope.
NOAC 2024 will be held from July 29 to August 3, 2024, at the University of Colorado Boulder. This is the first NOAC hosted by CU Boulder.
Any currently registered member of the Boy Scouts of America and the Order of the Arrow. Attendance requires the review and approval of your local Scout executive or their designee. All attendees must provide a valid BSA Annual Health and Medical Record (AHMR) forms A, B, and C. Adults must also complete Youth Protection Training through My.Scouting
NOAC will be the largest OA event of the year. Arrowmen can expect only the best and most exciting activities, training sessions and shows. Attendees will meet their fellow Arrowmen from around the country and have the opportunity to trade patches, make new memories, and find lifelong friendships. Each day will begin with premier training sessions and close with an exciting show. Arrowmen will have the freedom to choose their own journey and which activities they attend throughout the day.
Registration FAQs
Registration for contingents is closed as of January 26. Staff can still register at registration.oa-bsa.org. Arrowmen can still attend conference virtually by registering as a Remote Delegate, here. Lodge delegates still interested in in-person attendance should speak with their lodge leadership about options to enter a waitlist or if you’re lodge still has space in your contingent. Contingent leaders should visit the contingent leader page for the Contingent Registration Primer.
The Remote Delegate experience allows Arrowmen at home to experience NOAC including living training, evening shows, and access to exclusive virtual-only programming. New for NOAC 2024, Remote Delegates will participate in the conference through a custom portal that will facilitate more interaction and better on-demand access to all live streamed content. Also new this year will be a custom memorabilia kit exclusive to those who register as a Remote Delegate for conference. Remote delegates can register individually through registration.oa-bsa.org for $75.
We are accepting delegates on the waitlist, subject to availability.
The cost to attend NOAC is $625 for the early fee and $675 for the standard fee per delegate and staff member and $1,050 for the early fee and $1,100 for the standard fee for individual delegates. This and other cost information is formally published in the Contingent and Staff Registration Primers respectively. Conference fees cover the promotion patch (delivered after receiving the paid deposit), conference patch (provided upon arrival at NOAC), residence hall housing, meals starting with Monday dinner and ending with Saturday breakfast, credentials, and other program materials. Additional fees for transportation to and from the conference and any contingent expenses are at the discretion of your lodge.
Yes. However, as of January 26th we are no-longer accepting new individual registrations as conference has sold out. Arrowmen still wishing to attend participate in NOAC 2024 can register as a Remote Delegate. In 2022, the conference committee introduced the individual registrant category that allows members of the Order of the Arrow who are 21 or over and have the permission of their lodge adviser and scout executive (or their designee) to attend the conference without serving on staff or as part of their council contingent. Individual registrants enjoy all the benefits of contingent delegates. Registration is open at registration.oa-bsa.org.
Staff registration is open! Visit the staff page for the Staff Registration Primer with more information at noac.oa-bsa.org/staff. Staff members require the same local approval and documentation as contingent members, with additional approval from the lead adviser of the NOAC committee to which you apply.
Lodges had the ability to claim up to five confirmed slots by Friday, March 1, 2024, if it has not yet registered a lodge contingent for NOAC. Please reach out to your lodge contingent leader or lodge adviser for waitlist possibilities. Remote delegate registration is available at registration.oa-bsa.org.
To ensure all lodges can participate in NOAC, five slots were held for lodges that had not registered when NOAC sold out. Unregistered lodges that did not claim their slots by Friday, March 1, 2024 forfeited their reserved slots, and those slots are now being used to move delegates off the waitlist. If a lodge that did not register has more than five arrowmen interested in attending NOAC as delegates, the lodge should apply for waitlist spots.
Arrowmen seeking confirmation of their status as a delegate in their lodge contingent should check with their lodge contingent leader or lodge adviser.
Yes! In order to ensure as many Arrowmen can attend NOAC as possible, lodges that no longer need slots can cancel without any penalty and receive a full refund of any funds paid. The deadline to cancel slots free of charge was Friday, March 1, 2024. The Contingent Leader should email concierge@oa-bsa.org to request a cancellation.
The deadline for individual delegates to request a refund was Friday, March 1, 2024. Individual refunds are no longer available.
Slots are added to a Contingent’s registration via NOAERS. The Contingent Leader can follow the steps in this guide to add slots to the waitlist.
Yes. By applying for a waitlist slot, you are confirming that you have an Arrowmen committed to attending NOAC and that you will utilize the waitlist slot. Lodges are responsible for all costs for the slot if it is moved off the waitlist.
Waitlisted spots are assigned every two weeks as slots become available.
Arrowmen will be moved from the waitlist to a full contingent member on a first-come, first-served basis, and youth delegates will be prioritized.
The Trailblazer Scholarship will prioritize confirmed delegate applications. If there are additional funds, they may be allocated to waitlist slots. Should this occur, more information will be communicated to the recipient and their contingent leader via email.
If you have a confirmed slot that needs to be changed between a youth or adult designation, please email concierge@oa-bsa.org to request this change.
No slots may be changed to discount slots at this time. Discount waitlist slots were only available through Friday, February 2, 2024. Any new slots added to the waitlist after February 2 will be at the Standard rate.
At this time, there is not a chance to add additional confirmed slots for NOAC. Opportunities to add more lodge delegates will come from lodges that do not need their current committed slots by filling waitlisted delegates.
Yes. A Contingent member may leave the lodge Contingent and register as a staff member. In this case, the lodge will remove the delegate from their contingent and may add another delegate in their place to fill the slot. The delegate transferring to staff will need to register themselves at registration.oa-bsa.org. However, a staff slot is not guaranteed. Assignment to NOAC staff is subject to need by each committee.
No. Contingents who return their open slots cannot dedicate those returned slots to a neighboring lodge. Returned slots will be provided to Arrowmen on the waitlist on a first-come-first-served basis, prioritizing youth delegates.
No. Each lodge/council must meet all youth protection requirements as stipulated in the Contingent Registration Primer.
The Contingent Registration Primer is available here.
Changes in staff delegate types are no longer being accepted as of May 1, 2024.
New staff applicants will continue to register at registration.oa-bsa.org and will choose the “Commuter Staff” option when selecting their registration type. The registration experience will be the same as other NOAC attendance types.
Yes, once your registration type is moved to Commuter Staff, any amount paid over the Commuter Staff Fee ($395) will be reimbursed.
Commuter Conference Staff are responsible for arranging their own transportation and parking for NOAC. All staff attending NOAC, both on and off campus, will be required to purchase a parking pass if they are bringing a vehicle to NOAC.
No, the conference will not be providing any housing recommendations or facilitating off-site housing for Commuter Conference Staff.
Transportation and Housing FAQs
There are no lodge capacity quotas. The NOAC committee always recommends a 2:1 youth-to-adult ratio for your lodge contingent to maximize the youth delegate experience. Your contingent cannot have more adults than youth. Youth protection must be adhered to at all times.
Day passes are unfortunately not available for NOAC. Everyone attending NOAC must be a registered delegate, staff member or invited guest. This is to ensure we meet BSA youth protection and university guidelines.
Contingents should plan to arrive on the UC Boulder campus no earlier than Monday, July 29. There are no accommodations available for early arrivals. Contingent check-in times will be assigned during the registration process. The first meal provided will be dinner on Monday, July 29.
The program officially concludes with the Friday evening Theme Show and any post-show activities. The final meal served will be breakfast on Saturday, August 3.
Shuttle service is available for $30 each way and can be scheduled and paid through NOAERS. Payment must be received prior to the conference.
Shuttle service is available for $30 each way and can be scheduled and paid through NOAERS. Payment must be received prior to the conference.
Contingents and staff will be housed and eat meals in university residence halls located throughout campus.
Promotion FAQs
Gathering interest and excitement for NOAC early is a best practice for lodges to bring as many Arrowmen as possible. The NOAC Champions program is set on jumpstarting this process. Lodges can send out save-the-dates on social media or email to their members, create an interest form to begin recruiting Arrowmen to attend and speak about NOAC at lodge events. Some lodges may decide to begin fundraising to help lower the cost for Arrowmen.