Thanks and help

[Zaukrie]

Wow, I wish I'd found this earlier. Somehow, I am running the race in 4-5 days. I expect 50-60 boys to race in our pack. Unfortunately, I don't know the number, and we aren't a Pack to pre-register. I had planned to have each boy ract 9 times (3 lane track, 3 times on each) and award points (1,2,3) for finish with the most point being the winner (or the least, either way).

Then I started reading this site. What concerns me is I don't know how many boys will be at the race, so I'd need to generate 20 or so schedules (to accomodate 45-65 boys showing and racing), then at 1 pm say which schedule we were using. I thought I could have the schedules printed, but no way.

Our Pack's main goal is to have lots of racing, and to get rid of DE. Now, the uncharted 5E appeals to me. If I read the chart right, 7 boys will not have won a race, and 13 will have won one race (using Stan's Dispaly N-Elim round generator). That's not so bad.

I've read every thread, and the stamp on the badge seems the best idea (better than poker chips, which I know would get mixed up).

Does the random line thing really work for assigning which boys race which, or should they get some kind of random number?

thanks, what a great bunch of guys for all the help I've gotten just from reading the site.

[Zaukrie]

Stan e-mailed me already with some ideas. Thanks,

I'm 90% convinced to run a 5E race, and I just e-mailed my Pack leadership to let them know. It seems the best way to handle not know how many boys will be there until the race starts, and someone made a good point (and Stan did in e-mail), once you've lost 5 times, do you really want to keep racing?

[Zaukrie]

The uncharted 5E race format works great. If you want to know how it went for us, let me know.

[Stan Pope]

If you do a written "post mortem", please send me a copy. I like to learn from other than my own mistakes! Especially, I like to learn from other's successes.

[Zaukrie]

I will be doing a wrap up (I hate the phrase post mortem, but that's just me) on how it went. I can't recommend this method enough.

[Stan Pope]

I will be doing a wrap up (I hate the phrase post mortem, but that's just me) on how it went. I can't recommend this method enough.

Sorry! I wasted too many evenings watching "Quincy, ME" and too many years working with degenerates.

[Darin McGrew]

(I hate the phrase post mortem, but that's just me)

It isn't just you. At work, we've started using the term "post partum" to refer to the debriefing that occurs after a product release, since "post mortem" implies that the product died.

[Zaukrie]

No problem, we use it at work almost every day. I just applied for the Project Management Process Owner position, I'll be using it a lot, assuming I get the job of course.

My thoughts on the format:

Great!
I've never received so many compliments. The boys all got to race at least 5 times, and it was clear the fastest cars won the top 3 spots. We used poker chips with an "n" to pick the three lanes with the "n" person going back into line. I gave each boy a name tag with 12 squares on it. If they won, they got the same number again in the next square. If they lost, the next square had a higher number. We had 3 boy scouts judging the race, and they marked the numbers (any races too close to call were ties, we actually had about 7 of those). This worked great. every boy knew what tier they were in by the number on the badge. If they raced in a 2 car race, they got an "x" in their box also. The next time they lined up, if they had an "x" and were near the end, I moved them to the front or middle. The badges were perfect.

Not so great:
Some kids missed their spots. By the time they realized it, they usually had missed the next tier they would have been in. One boy went from 0 losses to 2 losses in 5 seconds. That was my assistant den leader's son. However, he won every race the rest of the way, until the final, when he was defeated by the winner in the "0" tier. Three boys who were in tier 4 missed thier race, and got "5" put on theirs. Kind of felt bad about them. Kids who were defeated left before the end. I know this happens in other formats too, so that's one thing we'll work on for next time. We got so wrapped up in the new format, our Scout Master forgot to judge the non-racing events, like most patriotis. We also couldn't give out the participation ribbons because so many boys had left. Should have given those out at registration like I originally wanted.

Suggestion:
Need a big board to indicate what round you are on, and what tier is racing. That way if they go to the bathroom and miss the announcement, they can figure out what race we are on.

I'll put more in later.

[Stan Pope]

Some kids missed their spots.

By the time they realized it, they usually had missed the next tier they would have been in. One boy went from 0 losses to 2 losses in 5 seconds. That was my assistant den leader's son. However, he won every race the rest of the way, until the final, when he was defeated by the winner in the "0" tier. Three boys who were in tier 4 missed thier race, and got "5" put on theirs. Kind of felt bad about them. Kids who were defeated left before the end. I know this happens in other formats too, so that's one thing we'll work on for next time.

The method functions best when you truly "manage by bunches" and that is done best when the "bunches" are "kept bunched!" That is the function of the "group leaders" with their signs. The other aspect is that the scorekeeper needs to direct each scout to his new group just after his scorecard is updated. I think those two revs eliminate most of your problems.

The problem of the boys leaving the area is solved by having them report back to one person who can get them into the right group. Alternatively, each group leader needs to check the scorecards for boys who are returning to the group.

If the boys are separated from their groups, e.g. by sitting with their parents, then race management can get really difficult and subject to more error.

We got so wrapped up in the new format, our Scout Master forgot to judge the non-racing events, like most patriotis. We also couldn't give out the participation ribbons because so many boys had left. Should have given those out at registration like I originally wanted.

So, ask the boys to bring their cars to the next pack meeting for a grand show! And give them the participation ribbons then, too.

Suggestion:
Need a big board to indicate what round you are on, and what tier is racing. That way if they go to the bathroom and miss the announcement, they can figure out what race we are on.

Better to have one person responsible for sorting this out ... that way, fewer errors made by folks misunderstanding the process.

I'll put more in later.

Thank you very much for the comments.