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Historical Cub Scout Pack 6 | Real Pack 6 |
| The track was set up and aligned on Friday night, and was available for test runs during the weigh-in on Saturday. This was a very busy time, with lots of Cub Scouts and parents running around fine-tuning their cars. The official scale was extremely accurate, and some people fussed until their car's weight was accurate to better than 0.001 ounce! The drills were humming and the lead was boiling as the adjustments were made. A few people needed extra wheels or axles, but by the end of the day most of the cars were complete and met all the specs. Some of the rules were waived for the "open" category (parents, siblings, etc). |  |
On Sunday, the races started promptly. A stirring introduction was provided by the Cubmaster, who reminded everyone that there is a lot more to the Pinewood Derby than a car race. It is a Cub-parent project, and an opportunity to learn new skills. He repeated the motto "The fastest car will finish first, but all the Cub Scouts are winners." Then the floor was turned over to the Race Announcer. The scheduling of the heats went flawlessly. This year we used an older software package than the last two years, and it seemed to work better. The announcer came armed with several pages of jokes and riddles with which to fill the time between heats. Many of the jokes were so lame that he was accused of stealing them from the Cubmaster.
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The announcer, the scheduler and the starter all worked smoothly together. Each boy got to go on stage and hold up his car at the start of his first heat. After that the official starter handled the cars, in the interest of time. The boys were justifiably proud of their creations: some of the cars were truly amazing. The paint and decorating jobs also showed lots of imagination. One shark car even had rows of teeth! Another boy built a mobile home that looked as if it defied all the rules on how to make a fast car, but it won consistently. Some of the cars were low-slung, sleek models, while others had drivers, compartments that opened, and all kinds of other accessories. It was obvious that each one was a labor of love, a boy's imagination carved into wood. |
| The Tiger Cubs raced first, followed by the Wolves, Bears and Webelos. There were a few close finishes that required reruns. Of course there was some disappointment for the losers, but everyone was a good sport and everyone left happy. The crowd was loud and appreciative, cheering every heat. It was nice to see lots of grandparents and other relatives show up for this special event. |  |
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The open division provided a big surprise. The Cubmaster's car, designed and painted by his daughter, was paired against the school bus built by the Race Announcer. The previous Cubmaster had experienced an unfortunate series of disasters that prevented his car from ever actually finishing a race, but this year the tables were turned. The daughter's luck rubbed off on the Cubmaster's car, and it was the school bus that exploded halfway down the track! |  |
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After the last heat, the cars were returned to the boys, with a ribbon on each one. The winners were offered a choice: 1) compete in the District championships, in which case the car would be impounded by the leaders, or 2) get the car back right away. The older boys chose to have the cars impounded, but the Tiger Cub winner was so proud and excited that he just had to have his car back right then. The Race Announcer bent the rules a tad and gave him ten minutes with his car in which to make his decision. |
All in all it was an exciting and heartwarming event. For many
boys this is the highlight of the year, and those who were
present understand why that is so. It brought out the best in the
boys and their parents, and was an excellent example of the
virtues of Cub Scouting.
