Mom-Scout

"At our pack race all cars are checked for axle spacing before the race. Was an illegal car allowed to race?"

Most definitely! All three illegal cars raced! That is how they won trophies. There was an inspection team, however I guess they didn't "inspect" very well.

"As far as all four wheels must be on the ground, even well built cars will have one of four wheels a little higher."

My son's car has all 4 wheels touching the ground and the one parent told me yesterday at work that he intentionally left only three wheels touching the ground for less friction.

"Exposing the cheaters is a very tempting alternative. I am not sure why you have the cars sequestered, but the fact that certain cars have identifiable modifications that are in violation of the rules makes it a real possibility that the race results can be contested (although, in the case of the 3-wheel roller, the counterclaim could be made that you bent the axle while you had control of the cars post-race)."

Ohhhhhhh....exposing the cheaters IS SO tempting, however... The reason the cars are sequestered at my house is because my other half is the assistant cub master and the cars will go to district and they can not have any modifications before district. The exception to the 3-wheel roller is that the dad told me himself at work.

"Bringing up these issues will likely reflect on you and your son as 'poor sports', rather than on the cheaters, who probably have learned to claim 'victim status' very well by now."

You are right...I know these issues would reflect on me (not my son) because I am the den leader and the parent of the "loser". My son, however has, sucked it up as "victim status" for the most part. He doesn't mention it unless somebody brings it up. However, I know if the other parents knew that they lost to a clear "cheater" there would be a lot of griping but we do this for the boys so I won't mention it. I'm tempted to go out and buy my son a trophy that has a plaque on it that says: "PWD honesty" Best car in den built by boy, following the rules" "2005" but I know that will just make him look back on it everytime he sees the trophy.

Thanks for listening to my complaint. I have another son that will start PWD racing next year and he does not take to losing very well, although he is young and it is hard for them to understand at that age, I guess I should start preparing him now because he will be a lot of work.

As a parent I could get thoroughly discouraged by this Pinewood Derby stuff. As a leader I teeter on both sides of the rope. I'm a Webelos II leader so I feel the boys in my den are old enough and mature enough to complete a great deal of their own cars with a little help from their dads, especially since we've earned Craftsman, Engineer, Scientist and all of the other pins this could fall into (all we have left to earn out of the 20 are Showman and Readyman).

However, as the leader for the last three years I have watched the same boy win every Pinewood Derby race as the top winner in the den (which has been the length of time he's been with us). I could accept it if I KNEW he built most of his own car, but I know he didn't. He said so himself, even though his dad told another parent otherwise. I could accept the fact that he won against my son for the third year in a row if I didn't know that this year he altered the wheel base (even though the rules for OUR derby said it wasn't allowed). So now that the derby is over, the cars have been sequestered (however you spell that) and are at my house once again under lock and key, I know that the TOP winner for the Pack had only three wheels touching the track (even though the rules state all FOUR wheels must touch the track). My son is seriously disgusted because he knows in his heart of hearts he did MOST of the work on his own car and the other boys did not do hardly any of the work on their cars. I can't even begin to imagine the heartbreak he would have if he knew that the two top PACK winners disregarded the rules.

As a parent, how do I handle this? As a den leader, how do I handle this? I also know that one other boy did not build his car from the "BSA Grand Prix type car #17006 Pinewood Derby Kit" as specified in rule number ONE! Three boys, three of the top four winners in the pack (one from each level) and three boys broke three specific rules, one each (unless you count the one that says MOST of the work should be done by the boy). It seems very unfair. What could we possibly be teaching our children? I can't tell my son that he lost because others cheated. The reason he didn't get the trophy was because the others cheated or didn't follow the rules. At first I told him, "son, you have to know that you did your best. You worked honestly on your own car, you did your best you could and you will always feel good about that whereas the other boys, if they have a conscience (spelling) they will have to live with it" but he still gets heartbroken because he knows that is his last Pinewood derby and he didn't get a trophy again this year and he no longer has a chance to win a trophy. As a parent I want to scream, "YOU cheated again!" As a leader I feel I have a responsiblity to at the very least discuss fair play but how do I know I got the point across to each and every boy? I'm trying not to show bad sportsmanship but it is disgusting because if the boys didn't follow the rules this year, how do we know they will follow them in the future, or did they follow them in the past? The only reason I know the one boy only had three wheels touching the floor was because the boys dad told me. The only reason I know the ones wheelbase has been changed is because the boy told me his "dad had to fix the axle" before the race day.