Derby Fun Day--Most wins in one hour was sour

General discussions for car and semi-truck racers.
Shawn Stebleton
Master Pine Head
Master Pine Head
Posts: 190
Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2012 7:20 pm
Location: Monroeville, PA

Re: Derby Fun Day--Most wins in one hour was sour

Post by Shawn Stebleton »

Some more info....

Our pack STILL doesn't have a timer. So... No times recorded anywhere. Judges eyeball it. We've thought about getting one, and our Cubmaster only wants to have one that displays place--not times. We might get one, but to us it isn't really critical.

The event ran from 8:30am to 3:00pm. It's designed so that people can come in whenever they can. They can even come in, leave to do something else, and come back, if they wish. Very informal. The contest was only one hour. The rest of the time the boys can just have fun heats on the track against friends, against boys from our own or other packs, against last year's car, whatever. Some use the time to tune their car, such as what Tmack and his son did. I've always told our pack's boys that you can build more than one car, bring them both/all to the Fun Day, and test them.

We have no sort of pre-registration whatsoever. It's open to all packs, all ranks. We have no clue as to how many of each rank would show. We could not try to make a formal event out of it, with stamping wood, registering cars, etc. We don't have the manpower to do that, and I truly believe it would take away the Fun from the whole day. We even wear our Class B's (tee shirts). Not everyone wants to participate in the Most Wins race, and that's fine. The workshop and building is the main focus.

The formal event is the Pinewood Derby two weeks later. We know all of the boys in the pack, so registration is easy. A thorough inspection is done on each car. Participants are announced and introduced. The cars are proudly displayed, each on its own felt mat. Cars are judged for Best Design and Most Original categories. The races (Tiger Cubs have a separate race, and the Wolves through Webelos II's are combined in the other) are the focal point of the day. All leaders and scouts are in Class A's. This is the "real" event.

My first year as a Cub dad, I remember my son getting his first Pinewood Derby kit and looking at me, seemingly asking "Now what"? It had been many many years since I was a Cub Scout and the kit had changed from then, so I was at a loss. I was very glad our pack had the Fun Day, as he opened his box and we got started. We did not know about the Most Wins race until it was about to start, and my son's car was nowhere close to ready, so he did not participate in it. It was a learning experience. One of those "We'll have to remember this for next year" times. We don't mind missing out on that race that year, as the two of us learned quite a bit then. It primarily is a workshop, and that is what we went for, so we were happy.

As to why there were fewer participants in the Most Wins contest than last year, I have no idea. It has varied year to year. Last year was quite a bit higher than the year before. Maybe its cyclical. Maybe more boys are realizing that they shouldn't be using their new Pack PWD car for the fun race, but instead need to bring a different car for that.

We seem to get mostly people that need help building their cars, as opposed to those that come to just test and tune. Maybe we got more test and tune boys this year compared with last year. :idk:

The Fun Day is like going to a carnival--the first time you probably don't get to experience everything, but you see what is there and look forward going back so you can do more of some of the same things, and do some of the things you hadn't done.
Shawn
rpcarpe
Master Pine Head
Master Pine Head
Posts: 736
Joined: Wed Mar 17, 2010 11:58 am
Location: Huntsville, Alabama

Re: Derby Fun Day--Most wins in one hour was sour

Post by rpcarpe »

It sounds like a fun event, I'd love to hold one here.

You may want to separate the 'built here today' cars from previous racers. Call the older cars... the Grudge Match??
My wife started a new support group... Widows of the Pinewood Derby.
Shawn Stebleton
Master Pine Head
Master Pine Head
Posts: 190
Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2012 7:20 pm
Location: Monroeville, PA

Re: Derby Fun Day--Most wins in one hour was sour

Post by Shawn Stebleton »

Well, the Most Wins contest is not the "event" but just one Fun thing to do during the Fun Day. It's not meant to be a formal race.

Not everyone can show up right at 8:30am to start building. Some have other things going on in their lives and come in when they can. If a boy has hockey practice until 11:00am, why should he be prevented from having Fun in the Most Wins contest just because he can't build a car in the short amount of time available to him?

The purpose isn't to build a car for the Most Wins contest, but to build a car for the Pack Pinewood Derby. That's why most people bring previous years cars for the event. The previous years cars aren't eligible for the regular Pack or District derbies, anyway, so this is an outlet for having more Fun with them!
rpcarpe wrote:It sounds like a fun event, I'd love to hold one here.
It is fun. Seeing the kids running (well, walking quickly ;) ) from staging, to the end of the track, to the end of the line to start all over again, and getting excited about racing is a joy to see. :thumbup: Plus, it gives some kids practical experience in what to do when things go wrong, such as when a wheel falls off, or something breaks off the car. My own son experimented with an ultra-light design a few years ago and it wasn't durable enough to last. It broke completely maybe 30 or 40 minutes into the contest and was irreparable. Guess what? His pack car was made more durable! He learned a lesson and didn't have to lose the "real" Pinewood Derby race to learn it. I call that a bonus!
rpcarpe wrote:You may want to separate the 'built here today' cars from previous racers. Call the older cars... the Grudge Match??
We don't have another track and I don't think there is enough room in our space to fit another track, anyway. Trying to keep track of different categories of racers would make it too formal and take too many people, and the lack of manpower means we won't be doing that. Again, the focus is not on building a car for the Most Wins race but for the regular Pinewood Derby. The Most Wins race is a Fun addition for those that wish it. Averaging under 12 seconds per heat, its a LOT of Fun!
Shawn
Post Reply