Proposal for New Awards - Due in 1 Month!

[Curse You Red Baron!]

A post about too many awards has me wondering about appropriate awards. I'd appreciate the thoughts of folks on this site regarding the changes/categories I'd like to make. I need a full proposal in the next month or so. Disclaimer, I am the farthest thing from a control freak you could find, I just really miss an element of my youth derbies that I think can be effectively replicated now.

As a youth in the YMCA we had meaningful design awards that we really wanted to win. My friend's dad was a professional artist, worked a bit in Hollywood, and they won 'Most Unusual' or 'Most Artistic' every year, and there were lots of cars competing for that award. I believe these awards for creativity inspired some really great car art, part of the fun of the race was looking at all the designs. I contrast that with our pack, where awards are for only Speed and Best in Show, the latter voted on by scouts, and no ribbon or trophy to go with it. To some degree, this latter turns into a personal popularity contest, which I really don't like, though I do like the idea of scout input.

I'd like to start something like that for our Pack, here are my thoughts:
* Speed Trophies for 1st-3rd, by Den (this is an established tradition)
* Most Unusual New. Ribbons/medals/trophies for 1-3 by class (Tiger, Wolf, Bear, etc)
* Most Artistic New. Same as above
* Most Scout Spirit New. Same as above (not just scout colors or slogans, but theme also)
* Best in Show Scout's Favorite, Ribbon for 1st place (or trophy, if $ available)
(This is done by Den currently... think it would be good to go by Class)

These categories would reward both originality and execution in design, without requiring a scout to be skilled at both. (The artistic award could inspire more fathers to 'take over', but a good can of spray paint and safety training is all a young scout needs to do some nice work.)

Speed is timed of course..I'd like the next three categories judged by selected adult 'Volunteers' (so the Scout Masters can select someone, if they feel they need to exercise judgement.) With four 'classes', each class would be judged by the other three... so Tiger is judged by Wolf, Bear and Webelos. Again, your thoughts are appreciated, many thanks!

[FatSebastian]

* Most Unusual New. Ribbons/medals/trophies for 1-3 by class (Tiger, Wolf, Bear, etc) ...

Assuming that Webelos is one class, are you saying that you expect to award 3 x 4 = 12 Most Unusual awards, plus 3 x 4= 12 Most Artistic awards, plus 3 x 4 = 12 Most Scout Spirit awards? How large is your unit?

I'd like the next three categories judged by selected adult 'Volunteers' [...] With four 'classes', each class would be judged by the other three... so Tiger is judged by Wolf, Bear and Webelos.

Are you saying that parents and/or den leaders of one Rank would volunteer judge the cars of the other Ranks? Must den leaders who have sons at other Ranks recuse themselves from judging their own son's work (which they probably had some hand in)?

If there is more than one judge per "class" (Scout Rank), how do you handle tie votes or disagreements in the opinions of the judges?

How do you plan to handle overlap? Can the same car qualify for, or win, say, Most Scout Spirit and Most Artistic?

As a youth in the YMCA we had meaningful design awards that we really wanted to win.

Is 3rd place Most Unusual Tiger Car a "meaningful design award" that the recipient "really wanting to win"?

One problem with "Most________" awards is that they can be extremely subjective from the start, so the added ranking of subjective awards is potentially complicated. If these awards are new to your unit, may I suggest keeping things simpler (and cheaper) the first time by offering "Most" awards that are truly most (that is, 1st place overall, or 1st place according to Scout Rank if your unit is large), followed with "Honorable Mention" ribbons where they are deserved to recognize or encourage efforts that are less than the "most"? Anything much more complicated (and expensive) may get resistance from your Pack Committee or PWD leadership.

[Buckeyefan]

CYRB,

I posted a few thoughts in the "First time running the race" thread, copied here:

1) We weigh-in the night before the race. We have plenty of experienced dads with tools to make every cub's car legal. The car that needs the most work to become legal gets the coveted "Golden Drill Award" which consists of a gold painted drill bit run through the gold car from the top of a PWD trophy and mounted on a plaque. It's always a big hit.
2) We award speed trophies for the top 3 in the den. We also award a special "best effort" medal to the cub who really tried but didn't place. We leave this one up to the den leader. Some award it for the slowest car, the tough luck car that got dropped, or the kid whose dad is in Iraq and couldn't help this year. Done properly, it really picks up a cub who is feeling low. Also, everyone gets an "I did my best" ribbon.
3) We award six trophies for design. for example: military, NASCAR, alien, Sports team, Cub theme, patriotic, Star wars, Spongebob, Craziest design, etc, anything you can think of. Also, a judges choice award and this year, a cub's choice award. (I got this idea from somewhere on DerbyTalk, THANKS!)
4) All den winners and next 6 fastest cars who didn't win their den race advance to the pack final. BIG trophies (18" for the pack champion) are awarded to the top 6.

We have a huge pack (~140 cubs this year) and a huge budget for trophies. With 12 dens this year, that's 36 den trophies, 6 pack trophies, 12 medals, the Golden Drill Award, and ribbons for all who didn't get a trophy/medal. The competition is fierce in some dens, but the kids (and parents) understand that if you want to win a trophy, you have to earn it. We print the rules and design categories and hand them out with the kits one month prior to the derby.

There is no restriction on the number of categories you can have. I would just expand the categories, not award 1st through 3rd for best cub scout design, and have a few honorable mention medals handy just in case you have 2 incredibly good Spongebob cars and you want to award them both something (which happened to us.)

Hope this helps,
Buckeyefan

[Curse You Red Baron!]

FatSebastian, Buckeyefan, thanks for your posts... you are right, I think it is too many design awards, and our Pack isn't that huge... so I like ther idea of just a first place for the design awards as Buckeyefan expanded upon.

I was struggling with the idea of the overlapping awards. I think I would want to limit the awards such that only 1 design award per car... so you can win Most Unusual, but not Most Scout Spirit.

Yes, I would have any judge recuse themselves from judging their own child's car... leaving it up to the judge would put them in a position that isn't appropriate.

I like the idea of having maybe 10 design award options, but not all have to be awarded. I'm really wanting to do more with some of the categories, but I think your questions highlight the real issue... being too ambitious. I need to avoid any proposal that seems like too big a change.

I don't have much time tonight, but will check back tomorrow, thanks again for your help!

[FatSebastian]

I like the idea of having maybe 10 design award options, but not all have to be awarded. I'm really wanting to do more with some of the categories, but I think your questions highlight the real issue... being too ambitious. I need to avoid any proposal that seems like too big a change.

CYRB, I think you're on the right track in offering awards for aspects other than speed. Some scouts put a lot of workmanship into their cars that doesn't always get recognized because they sacrificed any chance at a speed trophy to try something creative and fun.

There is no restriction on the number of categories you can have. I would just expand the categories...

Last year our Pack started handing out a limited number of surprise design awards at the Blue and Gold banquet - no real design categories were announced beforehand, and there was no placement (1st, 2nd, 3rd) of these awards; I think the Pack committee just wanted to recognize impressive design as opposed to speed. How and where it was awarded, and the fact that there was a limited number of these design awards handed out (about one for every dozen entries), made it very meaningful to the recipients and their parents. It comes down to whatever your unit thinks makes a "meaningful design award" meaningful. Is it because one car competed and excelled within a particular category, or does it recognize imagination and/or exceptional work in general, or something else... ? Consider the kind of design efforts your unit is seeking to recognize and reward the excellence of those efforts.

[Curse You Red Baron!]

Thanks for the advice, the surprise design award approach sounds like it could work with our Pack. I also like the idea for any scout that may be struggling with any special issues, to do something for them like a 'Did my Best' award for outstanding effort.

Since we do have a longstanding tradition of a 'Best in Show' award voted by the scouts, the remaining awards can be a 'surprise' and I think that works just fine. We also wait until the Blue and Gold Dinner to award PWD trophies, so the timing works. The more I think about it, the more I think our Pack would struggle with a more formal approach in any case. I don't know how many Scouts we have, but it can't be much more than 60 boys... so perhaps 1 or at most 2 special design awards per rank, and one or two special recognition awards if merited.

Back to the judging of the design awards then... with this kind of structure, it might be better to have the Den Leaders Judge. I like the idea of at least three judges, because it would break ties and also allow the judges some room to share impressions... my thought here is that it can be so easy for an individual (like me! ) to entirely overlook something praiseworthy... especially if it's something you are conditioned to expect, for whatever reason. Yeah, I'm thinking about my own boys now, who have some really exceptional talents that other parents can see so clearly, but to me feel so commonplace, because I see them in action every day. I do think thats a common issue and extends well beyond parenting, and so I believe the opportunity to share ideas before voting is good. The flip side is a controlling personality dominating the discussion, but our Pack has a lot of leaders who are good at encouraging participation while still asserting themselves appropriately.

Appreciate any thoughts you might have on the judges - how many, who should judge, the logistics of judging. We race by Den, and we have the hall for a limited time, so logistics will be a factor in how we do it. Typicaly we have a pre-check a night or two before the derby, you get a stamped card if you pass. Then the next day you present your card, and your car is weighed again, the 4 wheels touching are checked again (yeah, we have that unfortunate rule), but the other tests are bypassed. If you have no stamp, then you go through all the check stations. The cars sit on a table until the race. After the race, the Cars for the Den are set out. 'Best in Show' votes are collected (another race may have started by then). After a certain amount of time, the cars are released, unless they are going to district, in which case they are quarantined. The race managers do it all, so maybe all we need is one special volunteer to handle the 'after race presentation and award process', to accept the votes for best in show, and to get three judges to spend some time deciding on design awards. It may just boil down to what the pack is comfortable with, but I know there are lots of good ideas out there and frankly, organizing is not my forte, so I need the help. Thanks much!

[Curse You Red Baron!]

Another thing... FatSebastian I've been thinking about your question - what we are trying to encourage / reward - so here's a first take on that in a format that would serve as guidance for the judges:

The intent of the awards is to encourage:
1) Fun - (Golden Drill, Wild & Crazy Car)
2) Design - Effort / Workmanship (Best in Show, Judge's Choice)
3) Design - Creativity / Imagination (Most Creative, Most Unusual, Most Artistic)
4) Special Merit - theme / action (Scout Spirit) i.e. for one scout helping another build his car, or a car that honors our soldiers fighting overseas.
5) Special Merit - overcoming difficult circumstances (Superior Effort) for overcoming disabilities, father in Iraq/Afg, other difficulties.
Note: Award Categories and types expanded / added at Judges Discretion

So, this is 9 awards in total (these 9 being suggestions, not a straight-jacket), of which at least 1 will always be awarded (Best in Show), but the intent is to award at least that 1 plus four more... one per rank. I have no experience with Webelos, are there two ranks in Webelos? If so, then guidance might be for 5 more. Beyond that is entirely at judge's discretion.

Sound reasonable? In the end this has to feel 'easy' or people won't want to implement it, so I hope I'm heading in the right direction with this.

[Darin McGrew]

So, this is 9 awards in total (these 9 being suggestions, not a straight-jacket), of which at least 1 will always be awarded (Best in Show), but the intent is to award at least that 1 plus four more... one per rank.

That sounds reasonable to me.

We try to have roughly the same number of design awards as we have speed awards. Lately, we've been using 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place for both "Automobile Design" and "Unusual Design". Other systems we've used have included:

• 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place Design (which tends to be dominated by the unusual designs, leaving the good automobile designs out)
• Best of Show, Best Automobile Design, Best Unusual Design, Best Finish & Detail
• Best of Show, Best Automobile Design, Best Unusual Design, Best Finish & Detail, and any additional awards the judges wanted to present (e.g., Most Nautical, Most Artistic)
• Best Automobile Design, Best Unusual Design, and several Honorable Mention awards

[FatSebastian]

I have no experience with Webelos, are there two ranks in Webelos?

Webelos is a two year program usually (4th and 5th grade), so there tends to be twice as many Webelos as other ranks. Dens / patrols are divided by grade, so Webelos are usually classified as "1st year" and "2nd year".

Sound reasonable? In the end this has to feel 'easy' or people won't want to implement it, so I hope I'm heading in the right direction with this.

CYRB, IMO you seem to be on track. If you reposted your question(s) over in the Car/Truck Race Coordinator's Corner you might get more responses to what has already been said here?

Appreciate any thoughts you might have on the judges - how many, who should judge, the logistics of judging

1) Related to straight-jacketing, my observations have been that some dens and/or Ranks are usually more competitive within themselves than others. So you might get quite a few meritorious cars from one Rank, and maybe few to none from another rank depending on the size of that Rank. Honorable-mention ribbons may come in handy in these situations.
2) An alternative to having Den Leaders serve as judges is perhaps having Den Leaders nominate 2 or 3 cars they think are most deserving to an impartial 3-judge panel? (However, Den Leaders would be in the best position to recognize any special circumstance awards of which you speak.) A judging panel for design wouldn't have to be Pack Leadership; it could be representatives from your Charter Organization, invited civic or community leaders, older Boy Scouts that used to belong to that Pack or from an affiliated Troop (but hopefully unrelated to any of the racers), etc., providing a great PR opportunity for your unit.
3) Some units do not give design awards to those who also get speed awards. If this is your policy, the award winners would somehow need to be decided after the racing is over.

[Darin McGrew]

Appreciate any thoughts you might have on the judges - how many, who should judge, the logistics of judging.

For the past few years, we've registered the cars the Wednesday before the derby. That gives us Thursday and Friday to organize impartial judges, before the derby on Saturday.

Our design judges have always been impartial adults, who don't know any of the kids. Often, they're church members who don't have derby-age kids, and who don't work in children's ministry. Sometimes they're someone's friends/relatives who don't attend our church.

Back when we registered the cars on the same day as the derby, we would schedule a period for judging between registration and the beginning of the first race. Often, there was a potluck during this time. Unfortunately, that means that the judges are rushed to make their decisions so the race can start, plus they can't enjoy the potluck with everyone else. The way we do it now is a big improvement.

[Buckeyefan]

CYRB,
Here are some details on how we do the judging, # of judges, etc.

1) We do the official weigh-in on Friday night. We have our most experienced dad doing the check-in inspection, our computer operator entering cars into the Grand Prix software, and another parent doing the weigh-in and checking that the car fits on the track. Each car gets a name and number. The inspector keeps a tally sheet for each judging category. Example: car #27 is a best sports team entry. The cars are impounded for the night on the pit tables ready for judging and racing on Saturday morning.
2) I use the tally sheet to create official ballots on Friday night. Each category is listed. Ex: Best sports team entries: 7, 14, 27, 39, 54, 99, other______. (Circle your choice or write in a number not already listed). This really helps in the judging when there are over a hundred cars and 6 or 8 categories.
3) On Saturday morning, I pass these ballot sheets out to about a dozen of the most involved parents (including the three mentioned above). These are the ones who really make things happen in the pack, and usually do a great job of being impartial.
4) I collect the ballots, calculate the results and we make sure the winners stick around for the awards after the pack finals so they can collect their trophy.
5) In the event of a tie, the PackMaster and I (neither of us fill out ballots) make a final decision. We try to spread the awards around. Ex: if one car takes a speed trophy, we will give the other car the design trophy. Honorable mention medals help in the event of a tie where neither car wins a speed trophy.

Hope this helps you out!

Buckeyefan

[Curse You Red Baron!]

Thanks everyone for the great ideas ! I've been a bit overwhelmed this past week, so I appreciate the continued posts in my absence. I think I have a pretty good sense of how to approach this now. Please forgive the newbie mistake of posting this question in the wrong area .

[Dad of 3]

Last year we tried adding design awards. 1st 2nd and 3rd per den. We let the boys vote for there favorites. This went over very well and allowed a lot of boys that wouldn't have otherwise won an award win. All the boys in the pack voted for their favorites in each den so that way a few boys couldn't vote for the most popular scout's car. When the boys vote for their favorite they feel more involved than when some leaders just pick the winners. We also had some Judge's awards to award to boys who clearly made a lot of effort but probably didn't turn out quite as they intended.