how can a derby be both fun ad aggravating?

[JeffD 10]

well - my son and i had the best time building his car - and a bonus is he is going to district. (though honestly - he could probably care less about going to district, and just wants me to build a track at home so we can build cars and race eachother). no extreme-lathed poly/moly/bolly wheels or special axles needed - the $3.50 for the kit provided us with a giant return on our investment

 

he was also voted "scouts choice" for tigers from all of the other scouts there.

 

enough of my fatherly gloating - so, what could be aggravating about this you say???

 

a dad who doesnt use the "legal" parts (wheels and parts from a non-BSA kit) who is told he cannot compete in the speed class to determine the cars to move on. Afterall, he would be DQ'd in tech inspection for sure. he let all of the leaders, and most in the fron 15 rows know how he feels about this.

 

so after his big scene and tantrum of this ex-cubmaster - i now am glad at the experience i was able to share with my tiger. I wanted to tell him trophies arent very expensive and the memories i will have with my son (win or lose) are worth far more than any POS plastic figur will ever be worth.

 

(sorry for my rant) and dont forget the make it fun part....

[Lisabob 13]

Yeah Jeffrey, been there too. I'm glad to hear your son had a great time building and racing his car with you. THat's the thing that matters.

 

As for your ex-CM, what a shame. I hope he's embarrassed by his outburst. We had something similar happen a few years back, only it led to fisticuffs. The following year, one thing we did was award a "scout spirit" trophy - bigger than all the others including the fastest racer. It became the coveted prize. We went from a situation where certain of the adults were the worst behaved people in the room to one where even the most obnoxious adults at least sat on their hands and tried to behave, so as not to hurt "junior's" chances. Better, we went from a situation where kids (and their parents) would stick around to watch their heat and then wander off, uninterested, to one where all the boys were watching all the heats and cheering each other on. Much better dynamic, a lot more fun. Sure a lot less stress on us leaders!

 

 

[Gonzo1 10]

It's too bad when someone gets the rules in advance and then can't follow them.

 

Next time, have someone hold up a car from last year (really this year) and point out the features required and the inspection process. You could hold a "How to build your car clinic" and remember to involve the boys (and siblings) by allowing them to operate the stating mechanism, and/or have some other activity like a mini loop-a-rama for them too.

 

Gonzo

[beasties mom 10]

My first PWD was 10 years ago. Up until this year it was always a round robin type race. Parents could sign up to race in a unlimited race. Which I always signed up for. Lets not talk about how my car did. I always had fun tho.My older boys after they became Scouts always entered the unlimited race too. The Pack always had a pit. Fathers that would help fix any problems with a car after racing had started. If a car lost it's weights,they were replaced,lost a wheel it was fixed,a boy was never taken out of a race.This year big changes.Double elimanation,Very sad little boys that only got 2 races. But what was even more aggravating this year if something happened to a car,and it had to be taken to the pit. The pack charged the boys.They even charged for graphite.(graphite was only used pre-registration)and if the boys didn't pay they were disqualified. Sad to say it makes me happy this was my great nephews last race he's crossing over to Scouts very soon.Very sad that for 10 years the PWD has gone from a event my family has looked forward to year after year to something my boys want nothing to do with.

Beasties mom

[Eagledad 2777]

Yes, the stories of adults behaving badly come every year about this time. While it doesn't really help the situation that much, it's important to understand that even as adults, we are still learning life by our mistakes.

 

I must say that Beasties Mom's (Beastie's Mom?) pack had the right formula for a while there. We found you can restrict and creat as many rules as you want, but letting folks vent their creativity and competive spirit in a positive manner always works best and is the most fun. Open class races solve most problems and let the whole family in on the fun. Our pack was much like Beaties Mom's and Pinewood turned into one of our favorite family nights. I remember even the grand parents came to that one.

 

It's not just Pinewood Derbies you know, for some reason high adventure trips seem to bring out the worst in adults as well. We adults get excited and dream for months of that mountain top experience. But when it seems the boys are getting in the way of our fun, we become a nasty lot. However, as I said, experience is the greatest teacher of wisdom. I know of one adult who is a pretty good SM now because he learned from his foolishness in the Northern Tier. Boys learn most by our role modeling and sometimes that is not a good thing to look back on.

 

And while we look down on these childish adults thinking we could never behave in such a manner, I'll worn you now that it is not a matter of if, but when our turn comes up. Have compassion for those Pinewood parents because the roles may switch soon and you might be next in line to drop your head in shame. Take heart though, humility is Gods favorite human behavoir and He rewards those who are willing.

 

I love this scouting stuff.

 

Barry

[SSScout 1615]

Planning and advance notice, so there is no reason to say" but I didn't know..."

 

Our Pack would have 3 classes: Cubs, Unlimited, and EBE (every body else). Cubs class was Cub built cars (adults can help, but "Scouts Honor", Cub designed and Mostly worked on. Unlimited was just that. Anything goes, so long as the physical limitations (weight, size) are met. EBE class was for siblings, visiting friends, etc. We usually had a few visiting boys sign up after racing in EBE class (borrowed car anyone?)

AND... we made sure there were LOTS of special awards: Best use of decals, most historic, funniest, Cubs favorite, most Scoutlike, most realistic, Cubmasters award, animal type, most clever, etc. The speediest cars had their reward. So should the other Cubs.

 

An ambulance with flashing light and siren? A dragon that SMOKES?

A 7 inch Semi trailer? (four wheels, but eight carved).

 

KiS MiF