Speedster wrote:Mr. Rukkian, I actually use to feel exactly like you. I can't seem to make up my mind. I really dislike our latest new rule, "all four wheels must turn" but since everyone has to do it I'll have to live with it. Perhaps racing in our district is not as bad as I think. It certainly is challenging. I'll send our rules out under a different post, as FS suggested, and maybe I'll find out someone has it worse.
if thats the exact verbiage, you might point out to the authors that wheels that TURN seems to translate to wheels that turn side to side, as in a real car.... perhaps they mean to infer that the wheels need to ROTATE on the axles?
other questions to jibe them a bit --- if these rules only require 3 wheels touching, can the 4th wheel be mounted in the "spare tire" position, and if so, does that violate any "no moving parts" rules? lol
I do so enjoy the symantics of derby rules.
Commenting on another subject raised here, the rule " must use the axle slots " should be diplomatically addressed with your rules committee as a rule that, by its regulation, DECREASES fairness and equality amongst PWD entries. Why you say? because there is a demostratable variance in the manufacturing of these slots for distance from each other, distance from end of block , as well as being out of square. Also, as there is not a 100% gauranteed method of assuring that the slots you see are the original slots, true enforcement is not possible.
How does our unit resolve this? we buy wheel sets and blocks in bulk, undrilled, and ONE DRILL drills all the axle holes, extended or not. We then sell the blocks at cost, and the kids simpy buy BSA wheel sets from us or at the scout shop.
"must use whats in the box" no longer can be fairly implied in the rules, since wheel sets are able to be purchased separately, and are OFFICIAL BSA products --- how can you in good concionces prohibit something that can be purchased at the BSA scout shop? We use the verbiage "must have begun life as an official BSA part, or be the manufacturing equivalent in both materials and specifications." Nails can be bought in bulk. Blocks can be bought in bulk. Wheels can be bought in bulk. There is no implied element of "cheating" by rejecting, during your construction process, faulty or poorly manufacatured wheels or axles or blocks. If you bought a Uniform, and you found that the pockets were sewn shut, you would exchange it for a fully functional example. If the quality of the stitching was subpar, you would do the same thing. There is no difference to the application of common sense in the case of wheel or axle or block selection, and making the EXTRA EFFORT to test wheels for balance, test axles for straightness, and test blocks for accurate placement of axles / holes should be REWARDED, in my opinion, since "do your best" does not mean " do your best with what comes out of the box and just live with the results ". Again, just my opinion, but sometimes common sense gets trampled by overzealous power trips.
While I am on this soapbox, the next time someone says " no precut cars - thats cheating / cutting corners / competitive advantage ", you can point out the block in the box is precut for axles, so it must be illegal as well.... and you can then remind them that the original PWD blocks were precut ( rough cut ) and then needed to be shaped. I would also have you go on to say that BSA now sells precut kits as OFFICIAL BSA PWD cars, so BSA is apparently violating it's own rules.. wow that can be very confusing! After the person calms down from your antagonizing them, everyone can calmly realize that a precut car is not a gaurantee of anything other than providing some assistance to someone otherwise unable to cut the car themselves, which is NOT a requirement of participation. ( i.e. i can take the block, prep the wheels, make NO cuts to the car, and race it as is, correct? If that is correct, then a person is NOT REQUIRED to cut the car at all.. and if they are not REQUIRED to cut the car, a car that was cut by someone else does not create an illegal car ). Again, age appropriate activities means that tigers cannot even use a saw at all, or a knife... how exactly are they to cut their cars? Now that we establish that the parent will need to assist, my next question is this --- is the parent cutting the car required to be the SCOUTS parent? certainly there are no requirements in any version of the rules, so a car is either CUT or it isn't. Either your Scout cuts it, or someone else does... so by definition, all cars built by TIGERS are "precut" prior to thier hands being involved, eh?
oh what a slippery slope, indeed.....
can we all agree on the following:
-unless you can prove the driver cut the car, it is assumed to be so
-unless you have proof of a premade "kit car", its assumed to be original construction
Our unit takes the blocks we have pre-drilled and sold to the drivers, and in a few sessions provide rough cut services -- the kids draw the rough shapes on the blocks, we cut them and demonstrate shop safety, they inspect the cuts and recommend additional shaping. I personally would say that if your rules would be violated by these activities, then I think your rules are counterproductive to scouting. In scouting, there is the EDGE training model - Educate, Demonstrate, Guide, and Empower ---- and, in my humble opinion, any activity that upholds the very foundation of that model should not and cannot be "outlawed" or legislated as "illegal" by derby rules.
just my opinion.... let the melee begin
Nicholas