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frankj

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Everything posted by frankj

  1. reply to eisley and CubMaster Mick: in our "single elimination" event, each car raced 3 times because we have a 3 lane track. The track was pretty old and this helped even out problems if a particular lane was "slow". This year we have a brand new track so all lanes should be equal. Each car raced against two other cars in three heats. Generally, the fastest car of the three won either all three heats or 2 heats. This identified a clear heat winner which then went on to race more. With the new track we will probably still have each car race on all three lanes. As far as "fair and appro
  2. I went to the site google.com and did a search on pinewood derby -- it came up with enough links that you could spend from now until Derby Day looking at info on the Web! There is the race itself and the overall event. Regarding the race itself, our pack uses a single elimination method. We race members of one den against one another to identify a den winner. Then these winners come back to race each other to determine the overall den winner. There is a website at http://www/rahul.net/mcgrew/derby/methods/html that explains the different types of elimination methods. We have a registrati
  3. Replying to post from the Commish: That is interesting about the Activity Pin fair. What I did was communicate in writing to all the parental "Akelas" telling them the schedule for completion of requirements with the request that they call me with any questions. In my view, the responsibility for advancement should be split about equally between me and the den leader and them as the parents. Some of the guys have only a few things left -- the ones who have a lot left to do simply will not make it. I made it clear that any of the boys can enroll in the Scout troop, it is a question of whet
  4. I should have been clearer. I do sign off on the items they need to complete for the Webelos patch, but as you probably know, parental involvement is how some requirements for activity pins are earned. We don't complete every requirement in den meetings or on outings. My plan has been to get an activity underway and then let the boys and parents know there are some additional requirements to do in order to earn the pin. This has worked for the "tortises" mentioned above. The exercise portion of the Fitness activity is an example of one where I have to take the parents and the boys word tha
  5. i have 7 boys in my webelos 2 den. As we approach the crossover to Scouts, I am reminded of the contest between the hare and the tortise. 3 of these guys are "tortises." They showed steady progress over the past 18 months and they will easily meet or have already met the requirements. Among the other 4 boys, I anticipate that some of the parents will adopt the "hare syndrome" and sign off on a lot of stuff at the last minute just so their boys qualify for the Webelos patch. I don't look forward to the prospect of challenging these folks on whether they completed some of the required acti
  6. Yes, tomahowk throwing would be a big hit. It can be safely conducted if supervised. Emphasize pack-owned or troop-owned tomahawks designed for throwing versus axes, hatchets and whatever the boys may bring. Try and situate it where the targets will be in front of a natural barrier like a high embankment.
  7. This past weekend the Webelos had an overnight and on Sunday morning I sat in front of the campfire with one of the Dads and we discussed the upcoming move into Boy Scouts. He said he was not going to let his son go on to Boy Scouts because of their stance on homosexuals. According to him, disallowing homosexuals was the equivalent of "teaching hatred" in his words. I explained to him the Supremes ruled on the issue of freedom of association, not whether homosexuals were good or bad and it had nothing to do with hatred or bigotry on the part of the national organization. I told
  8. If your local sheriff's dept has a search and rescue unit, they may have topographic maps for your locale and be willing to let you borrow and photocopy. However, there is no substitute for the United States Geological Survey Quadrangle maps. The 7.5 minute series has a map scale of one inch = 2000 feet (1:24000) and it shows an area of about 7 miles by 14 miles. Make sure you teach the boys about something called "declination" which is the angle difference between where the compass needle points (magnetic north) and true north (North Pole). They are NOT in the same place. Get
  9. I agree with the other response, that you should assign parents to help with stuff. Make an effort to contact the slacker parents and make it clear (tactfully) that the Cub Scout program is designed for the parents to work with the boy and unless this takes place, advancement will not be possible. Keep an activity in your "hip pocket" in case a parent does not come through at a scheduled den meeting.
  10. When I was in scouts, the one guy in our troop who attained Eagle rank did not do so until he was about 16 or 17. This was in the mid 1960's -- has BSA revised the program so that 14 year olds are the optimum age?
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