Successful Completion Rate for BOTC

[Basic Person]

I wasn't very active until December/04 so I am pretty worried about my chances of completing the course at St Jean in July. Are most people capable of succeeding as long as they perservere or do you need a lot of prep?

 

[Thirstyson]

IMHO few BOTC failures are because of physical fitness (maybe 1 in 20 people fail because of fitness). It is usually a combination of other factors such as general lack of enthusiasm, work and team ethic.

In all I think the successful pass rate for BOTC (IAP and BOTP) on the first try must be around 50%. The 50% that don't pass are split up between failures (some released, some re-do BOTC), voluntary releases and the injured.

 

[shadow]

I think the pass rate for BOTP is higher than the pass rate for IAP.  I didn't have to do IAP so I am unsure about it, but only 2 people out of 42 candidates failed the BOTP I was on.  Neither was about physical fitness.

I wouldn't stress out about the fitness part, unless you can't even run a km.  If you have a few weeks before you go on course, then start working on it.  The important thing to remember is that determination is most important.  If you are doing a run with the course and you start to fall back, keep at it.  Don't stop and walk, unless you are seriously going to die.  You also get at least two kicks at the cat in regards to the PT test, so you have plenty of time to improve your fitness level.  But start NOW.

 

[Thirstyson]

Failure rate is much lower in BOTP than IAP because the class has been 'screened' by IAP and also includes lots of CFR's that are almost shoo-ins to pass.

Agreed that you shouldn't stress too much about fitness... continue to train hard until it starts and you should do fine.

 

[GGboy]

My reg force BOTC (yes, back when it was called BOTC and they did it in Chilliwack) had a failure rate of roughly 33%, but only a handful of those were related to physical conditioning. Even in those cases it was only one of a combination of factors.
My much more recent Res BOTP had a 95% + pass rate and the one guy we lost dropped out due to work/scheduling conflicts.
BUT ... if you're in decent shape your life will be a lot easier during the course. My advice is to get out and go running regularly, starting with easy distances/paces and building yourself up gradually. Trust me: you'll be ever so glad you did.
Bon chance!

 

[TheCheez]

Dont stress the pass rates are fairly high. In my platoon there were only 9 that didn't make it 8 were medical or voluntary. (Medical usually gets you a 2nd try) Thats less than 20%. Some other platoons had 25-30% but it's not like they're out to fail 1/4 of the people that show up. If everyone does well, everyone gets to the next level.

IAP is also much higher fail rate. Alot of the med problems, all the VRs and those that don't make the standard are gone before BOTP.

 

[Pieman]

What are the typical conditions that people are being released/failing Basic for medical reasons? Is it generally shin splints/knee problems due to all the running?

 

[Thirstyson]

You should be able to live through shin splints (painkillers are free at the MIR)... Any injury that sidelines you for more than a couple of days of PT means a re-course (first hand experience of this  ).

 

[Torlyn]

During the NOAB, Chief Lemieux (when he walked in to the room, all us civvies almost dropped and started doing pushups on principle.  That man has one HELL of a presence...) fired up a graph during the Death By PowerPoint day, and the rate it showed for failure for last year was quite low.  He mentioned that many of those who don't make it through are the ones that realize half-way through that the military life isn't for them, and they give up.  (Doesn't account for all the numbers of course, but a lot of them...)  I believe for 2004 BOTC there were 624 officers, and only 8 didn't make it through BOTC..  Any other NOAB'ers out there remember this graph?

T

 

[MissHardie]

Well I don't know about Reg Force IAP and BOTP, but last summer in Esquimalt for my Res course we had a failure rate of just under 33%, and all but one were during the IAP phase.  We had a couple VRs, one medical release, and the rest were from failing the final leadership stand of IAP - which was the reason for the one in BOTP as well. 

Miss Hardie

 

[TheCheez]

Anything and everything.

Farnham is responsible for a lot of problems at least for the officers because you'll be there as early as week 6 and still have 8 weeks of the course to complete afterwards.

You will only be released medically if what you've done is going to compromise your ability to do your job in the future. If you can recover fully, no worries.

As for specific injuries, everything from knee problems to broken things, infections etc etc.

One really helpful thing was for us to get eye proctection. A lot of people were getting whacked in the face on night compass work. Stretch properly and don't over exert yourself if you don't have to in the physical activities.

The stat of 8/624 is not correct. From the fall intake alone there were many more than that who were released.

 

[Basic Person]

Thnx for the responses guys. I am a little more optimistic about my chances now (but still realize I will need to work uber hard until I leave).

 

[shadow]

Thnx for the responses guys. I am a little more optimistic about my chances now (but still realize I will need to work uber hard until I leave).

Work uber hard, but uber SMART.  Don't get injured before you get there.
Cheers