Two weekends ago we held our held our fifth annual Pinewood Derby Workshop. It went really smooth and we had a great turn out this year. Several boys and their parents took advantage of the opportunity to get some pinewood derby tips, choose a design, get their cars cut out and sanded down. Afterwards they had last week and the rest of this week to get their cars painted, add the wheels and get ready to race.
This year’s Pinewood Derby is this upcoming Saturday, March 19th. Vehicle registration and weigh in will start at 9:30 AM and end promptly at 11:00 AM. The Pinewood Derby itself will begin at 11:00 AM with the first heat running at 11:15 AM.
REMEMBER, ALL CARS MUST BE REGISTERED AND WEIGHED IN BY 11:00 AM — NO EXCEPTIONS.
Once the race begins new cars will not be accepted under any circumstance. The software we use to generate the race schedule uses an algorithm that guarantees each car runs on each track at least once and races against different cars each race. It is impossible, once the first race begins, to add new vehicles to the lineup without starting all over and invalidating the results of any races that already had taken place. We do not have the time to start over nor is it fair to the scouts who were on time. Therefore we will not be doing so.
SCOUTS MUST BE IN UNIFORM: This is a pack event, and the scouts should be in full uniform. This will make for much better photos of the scout with his car, which most parents love to take.
Lunch
Lunch will be provided at no cost for the participating scouts. Parents, sibling or friends may purchase something to eat and drink at a nominal cost, after lunch is served to the scouts.
Good Sportsmanship
This is already in the rules and you would expect that this should never be required to be part of the rules, but it is. The Pinewood Derby is for the scouts and it is meant to be a fun time for the scout. Sometimes scouts and even parents can take things a bit too far which not only ruins it for the scout, but for other scouts as well. A visibly upset parent will make their child upset and that change in mood will spread to others.
Good sportsmanship is one of the things we teach our Cub Scouts and must be shown at all times. Bad sportsmanship, regardless of whether it is from a scout or an adult is absolutely forbidden. A scout and his car will be disqualified if the scout, his parents, their guests, or leaders display unsportsmanlike conduct before, during, or after the derby.
The Rules
It is important to make sure that your car adheres to the rules. The rules are attached below. The rules for our pack are in line with the district rules and strict adherence will be enforced. If your car does not adhere to the rules it will be unable to race. It is also important to remember that the decisions of the judges are final.
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