pinewood pet peeve

[cajuncody 10]

Just going to go ahead and vent:

Just talked to current CM and he said that "Little Johnny" and his dad were already working on their cars to beat my sons and my own car (we blew everyone away last year) this year at derby. I have no problem with competition, heck "Bring it on!" I had a blast last year. My pinewood pet peeve is that "little Johnny" and his family have attended maybe 1 meeting since September. I say 1 because I can remember none but he may have been in the group at the Election party. I don't think he should be allowed to compete. This is wrong for our other boys who have attended all the meetings. Is there anything I can do?

Kristi

 

Posted in wrong area

Kristi(This message has been edited by cajuncody)

[scoutldr 726]

Little Johnny and Dad will be spending time together building a car. They will spend a day together racing and cheering and just having a good time. This may be the catalyst that gets them more active in Scouting. Where's the "bad" part again? How does this hurt anyone else? My attitude is always "we will accept whatever time they want to devote to Scouting. Some Scouting is always better than NO Scouting."

[cajuncody 10]

Unfortunatley little Johnny and Dad don't come to the race. They send the car with the CM and he races it. If it wins the CM takes it to district. I don't think Johnny even gets to touch the car. It is always too perfect. It is all about winning and the awards. If you don't come, why race?

Kristi

[Eamonn 61]

We do it for the boys.

Sounds to me as if this little Lad needs all the help we can offer.

Eamonn.

[scoutldr 726]

Now I understand. Simple rule...you must be present to "race".

[EagleInKY 14]

Kristi - We have a "you must be present to race" rule as well. We've ahd some try to change it in the past, usually letting a sibling race for them. I've always opposed such a rule.

[beasties mom 10]

i don't know about a rule like that. not that i don't understand what your saying but what if a boy who is very active has something come up and he can't be there.For example yesterday one of our boys couldn't make it because of a death in the family.We raced his car for him.If a rule had been in place no race for him if you make the exception in his case then not in someone elses could get ugly.maybe the CM should stress to them that they should come and enjoy the races.

[cajuncody 10]

What bothers me is that this boy is a member on paper only. He doens't come to the meetings, I haven't seen him advance in rank, he doesn't come to hikes, camps, or service projects. I can't even put a face with a name because in my entire time I have never seen him. He doesn't even come to the race but up untill last year his family were the "reigning champs" and always won all the races (Best of show, speed, sibling, and adult classes). He doesn't help with his car and is not even allowed to touch it. The only time you hear his name is at the race and you may see him at a party. this isn't Scouting.

The CM doesn't have a problem with this but I do and so do my boys in the Wolf den. How can I explain this to them?

Kristi

[fotoscout 15]

Technically, if the boy is registered, he is entitled to participate. However, it appears that Little Johnnys parents need to be spoken too. CS is about more than one mid-winter activity which allows the child to participate in without actually being present.

 

We do not require the boys to be present to participate in the race. If for some reason, they cannot attend the Derby, we will run the car. This is simply the right thing to do. After all, the idea is not to race the car, but to build it. Our Derby runs for some 5 hours on a Saturday, people do have other things that must get done and we have to respect that. We dont have to like it, but we must respect it. The reality is that last year we ran one car, and this year, everyone came to run their own car. We did not have to run any cars.

 

I am curious about this boys advancement. Does he attend anything?

 

[EagleInKY 14]

foto - I respectfully disagree. I agree with the concept that the PWD is more about building the car than racing it. Therefore, you've just given yourself the argument for why the car shouldn't be run. If the point of PWD is to build the car, then you've accomplished the goal.

 

Life is about choices. Around here, I've found that most of the time, the conflicts are a winter basketball league that runs from December through February. The chance of a boy's one-hour game overlapping with his one-hour PWD race, is relatively low. But, if it does, he has a choice to make. Most boys in our pack have chosen the PWD over a single basketball game.

 

As for the boy with a death in the family, I would certainly make an exception for that. Anyone who questioned it would have to be cold-hearted and only concerned about winning. I'd get a friend of his, from a different den, to represent him in the race. Racing by proxy, you could say. I would not, as CM, race the car for him.

 

We had a situation one year where all of our second year Webelos were on the school's academic team. Really, every single one of them was on the academic team. The district championships for the academic teams were that Saturday. So, for that year, we raced that den on Friday night after the track was set up. We felt it was a reasonable excuse to miss. The winning cars were raced by proxy in the pack championship on Saturday.

[SemperParatus 1]

"This is wrong for our other boys who have attended all the meetings."

 

The PWD should not be a privilege for only those who actively attend pack meetings. It is a pack event that is open to all registered members. This boy should be allowed to participate like all others. I do agree that a scout should be present for his car to race. But since the precedent has been set and the CM seems to allow it, I don't think there is too much you can do until you take over as CM. Make it a rule next year, with the common sense to allow for exceptions in extreme circumstances (e.g., death in family).

 

 

[fotoscout 15]

EagleInKY, as I wrote that line I was sure that someone would disagree. The Derby is a marquee event in Cub Scouting. It is certainly a memory that both the boys and there parents carry with them long after Cub Scouts. But its the car that makes it personal, not the race itself.

 

I am not a person driven by competition. In fact I am not a fan of the competitive nature of the Derby. Our kids today have enough competition in their lives. To me, this is about building the car. Either alone or with Mom or Dad, or even with Grandpa or Grandma. Its about spending time with an adult and creating something. Sure its nice if the boy gets to participate in the derby, but I believe that its about the car first, and then the Derby.

 

[johndaigler 10]

hey, CC

 

Sounds like the issue is more about the CM's behavior than about "Little Johnny" and his Dad.

 

I don't think there's a right answer here. In some situations, you choose the greater good for the greater number. In some, you leave the flock and go look for the lost sheep.

 

I'm usually a fan of working with the rules you have. Change the rules if you want, but not in the middle of the process. If your Pack has established a system that allows little johnny and his dad to pull of this stunt with the CMs support, it doesn't seem like this is the time to fix it - or be stressed by it. . . . But, I'd start working on new rules for next year the day after this year's PWD.

 

Good Luck,

Don't fret, you've already won more than a PWD!

 

jd

 

[cajuncody 10]

I know that I can't change it this year. However, next year, what would you all suggest changing?

Kristi

[Hunt 11]

My son missed the Derby one year because he was sick--he would have dragged himself there if he hadn't been contagious. The Pack raced his car by proxy. So I can't really support a "scout must be present to race" rule.

Here's my suggestion--it should be part of the rules that the Scout is EXPECTED to be present to race. If he absolutely can't be present, he should arrange with his Den (not the CM) for his car to be raced by proxy. That way, the boy might feel some peer pressure to show up.