Check In question

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blcrow33
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Check In question

Post by blcrow33 »

What are the advantages and disadvantages of having the check in for the PWD race the night or a few days before the actual race? We usually had each group check in an hour before their scheduled race but we are thinking of having the check in the night before the race this year so we could have more time for pictures and design judging.

We usually had a Test and Tune the night before the race so if scouts found out they needed to make more adjustments to the car, they could do it over night and bring it back the next day for the race. How do you handle the Test and Tune when you do the check in the day before the race? Any feedback is appreciated. We are just trying to make things easier on the scouts and the family but some feel making them come a separate time for Check in may inconvenience some families.
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psycaz
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Re: Chech In question

Post by psycaz »

One thing is does allow is if there is a serious problem with a car (dq able) it gives the family time to try to fix it. An hour before, there isn't anywhere as big a window to correct say wheels or wheelbase issues.
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MaxV
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Re: Chech In question

Post by MaxV »

An important issue is safe and secure car storage. You need an on-site location in which the cars can be safely placed and locked up. Make sure there is a way to prove that the cars have not been tampered with.

We put our cars in a locked closet, and put a seal, signed by two, non-related club leaders, on the door (door can't be opened without breaking the seal). Then both leaders must be present when the seal is broken and the door opened. Excessive? No, just insurance for when a disgruntled parent says that the cars must have been tampered with.
blcrow33
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Re: Chech In question

Post by blcrow33 »

psycaz wrote:One thing is does allow is if there is a serious problem with a car (dq able) it gives the family time to try to fix it. An hour before, there isn't anywhere as big a window to correct say wheels or wheelbase issues.
If there is a serious issue with one of the cars and the check in is the night before the race, do you let that scout bring the car back the day of the race so he can take it home to fix it?
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Darin McGrew
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Re: Chech In question

Post by Darin McGrew »

Let's see... off the top of my head, here are some of the advantages:
  • The registration chaos and the race chaos are on different days, which makes the race much more enjoyable (both for participants and organizers).
  • Those who register their cars early don't end up with extra down time before the derby starts, so there's less incentive to register at the last minute.
  • Design judging can be scheduled at your leisure, rather than being shoehorned in during registration, during the race, or sometime between registration and the race.
  • There is time to fix any car problems encountered during registration. (We don't always catch such things during the workshops.)
  • You have time to photograph the cars and to add the photographs to the race software, so photographs of the cars in the current race can be displayed by the software. (This was very popular.)
And here are some of the disadvantages:
  • Some lubes work well the first few hours after they are applies, but not as well the next day, or a few days later.
  • You need a secure place to store the cars between registration and the race.
  • You may not have the actual track set up during registration, so it may be harder to check whether "out of the box" designs will fit the track.
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psycaz
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Re: Chech In question

Post by psycaz »

blcrow33 wrote:
psycaz wrote:One thing is does allow is if there is a serious problem with a car (dq able) it gives the family time to try to fix it. An hour before, there isn't anywhere as big a window to correct say wheels or wheelbase issues.
If there is a serious issue with one of the cars and the check in is the night before the race, do you let that scout bring the car back the day of the race so he can take it home to fix it?
Ours is generally a week in advance. If there is a serious issue with the car, they are allowed to correct and must bring it in the next day. We try to ensure the boys are given ever opportunity to race. We have had issues in the past where scouts couldn't bring there cars night of check in due to illness or hositalization in the family - we worked with them to get the cars the next day or when feasible.

We don't extend the deadline for just any reason, but try to be flexible for the boys - who are the reason we hold the event.
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Darin McGrew
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Re: Chech In question

Post by Darin McGrew »

blcrow33 wrote:If there is a serious issue with one of the cars and the check in is the night before the race, do you let that scout bring the car back the day of the race so he can take it home to fix it?
If we couldn't help them fix it on registration night, then yes, we'd let them fix it at home. Depending on how long it took them to fix the problem and return the car, they might miss out on the design judging. But at that point, we're trying to get the car to the point where it will cross the finish line on race night.

This doesn't come up often, though. We can help them fix most problems during registration, although sometimes the glue isn't quite dry when we check in the car. But the glue will have time to dry before the race.
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Re: Check In question

Post by blcrow33 »

Our main goal to move the check in to the day before is to make things easier on everyone from design judging to taking pictures. Plus make it easy for the parents and not make it a burden coming in for check in and then again for the race. We had some delays with cars last year being worked on until the last minute and I want to make sure the scouts race the best car they can and all scouts race a car. Thanks for all the feedback so far.
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Re: Check In question

Post by 3 Cub Dad »

We have had our check-in the night before for the last two years and have received nothing but positive feed back from both leaders and parents.

A few thoughts....

We hold our inpection and check-in at the same time we're performing the set-up for the Derby. Usually Friday from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm. We are fortunate that we have a venue, (school), where we can set everything up the night before. Since we're going to have the leaders there anyway......

Lets face it, Derby days can be long days to begin with. When you do check-in the day of the race, the kids are sitting around waiting for a couple of hours before any racing happens. This can make a long day even longer for both the kids and adults. (can you sy "restless natives"?!?)

Stress level for all is much reduced when it is separated. Cars are checked in, tracks set, electronics set, racing schedule set. Next day, show up, start up and race! Much lower stress for leaders, officials, parents AND scouts/racers.

It gives much more time for those "last minute" repairs, weight adjustment, etc.

We also are very explicit in the rules that cars not checked in on Friday night. We do through in a caveat that if there is a true emergency or other problem, to call the Race director as soon as possible, and the director "may" allow either an early or late, (the morning of the race), check-in. This allows flexibility for true problems. Yes, we had one show up 5 minutes before the race, with no call or reason,that was not allowed to compete in the Cub class.

We actually hold our Test and Tune on the Saturday before the derby. This gives plenty of time, for those who want to take advantage of it, to fix or improve on any problems.

I really can't say that we've stumbled across a "con" to this schedule yet.

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Re: Check In question

Post by Nitro Dan »

In order to be as convenient as possible to meet parents busy schedules, we held our check-ins at four separate times this year. We allowed check-in during the last day of our PWD Workshops, during the last Den Meeting prior to the race, during our "Test and Tune" time the night before the race, and up to one hour prior to the race itself. This cut down the "last minute" lines tremendously on Race Day. We also staggard our race times by Dens so that people didn't have to show up until an hour before they had to race (if they needed to check-in their car).

For storage on the early check-ins, we gently wrapped the cars in bubble wrap and sealed them in cardboard boxes (by Den), then stored them in an on-site locked closet.

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