Ate some humble pie tonight
- Thread starter Gso125 Racing
- Start date
Moral of the story......tell em to ditch the wood track lol. Our District has one thats 30 some years old..and worse yet the timer backward from the lanes (1st lane shows up on 4th lane on timer and so on and they never fix it and they have to manually write down times). . Everyone griped about it so 4 years ago our Pack bought a 42 Best Track. We ran District race for 3 years and things were good. Due to "politics" we got booted from running District this year and they will be using said old wood track again plus they raised price of racing by a dollar. Can't wait to hear all the fallout this year lol.
I wrote this to a parent and some cubs that I have been helping. I think it is applicable here so I want to share it with you and any/all parents that strive to help their kids succeed.
Race Day -
I am sure you are as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs with a stiff breeze blowing thru the windows. I am sure that the kids sense this also. Likewise I am sure they are anxious also.
Remember, it it just a race and you have done everything that you can at this point. Take a deep breath and relax a bit. Remember to have fun!! Let the kids have fun!!!
On a positive note, there are always things to be learned no matter the outcome. Both good and bad things can become a motivator! Tell the kids to share some of what they learned about their builds. It will help build both their confidence and their character. It also helps build and strengthen relationships with their peers. That places them in a good place to be seen as mentors and not as a selfish, secretive racer. Both kids and the adults will take notice!
Learn what you can, let the kids have some fun and use what you learn going forward. Remember to have some fun yourself! Use what you learn today both in teaching the kids about relationships, and in building better cars!
Good Luck and Have Fun!
You’re kidding me. They have a best track available and they aren’t using it? Some d-bag wants to see the kids cars flying off the track?
Sounds like the pack is dominated by the have fun and build something with your kids winning isnt everything crowd and are "leveling" the playing field against practiced and skill builders. Not all 8 year olds have mastered the 2.958 car yet. And some would love to see that 5" tall untuned dinosaur win one.
Btw.....our troop runs a 28' incline with offseting 1/4" gaps at every 7' 1960 unsanded joint. The scouts have a blast! And not one will ever make new york......smh
IMO, a lot more kids are going to be devastated b/c their car got destroyed when it came off the track. Yesterday, a little girl’s car was damaged when the car next to hers came off the track. Last year at the counsel race, five or six cars went flying off the track and fell about 3’ to the floor b/c someone thought a rolled up towel at the edge of the track would be sufficient to stop the cars. I think a lot of those issues could be avoided if the dad’s in the know were allowed to run things.
Lol.....the dreaded stop towel. We have a blanket. It is simple. The race is dictated by the parents that give to the troop as a whole. Not just the couple derby crazed dad's that have to win no matter what and don't chaperone on summer camps or building bird houses or making necklaces or other scout activities. Don't get it twisted but if the troop as a whole is not derby crazed we have to put up with inadequate parents that only care about letting the kids build and race AT Their venue. I wish there was a big magic wand we could wave and every troop would fundraise for a couple thousand dollar set up that they will only use once a year. But in all reality most Families do Not focus on a derby for more that one week a year for maybe 4 years max. As an enthusiast I get your grief. As a father that just wants the kids to Build their cars with a loved one at no extranious extravagant cost factor I hope they remember the bond as builder's that they share and can learn to laugh at mishaps and ackward misfortunes. They can put up or shut up as Leaguers. And worry about the minute details and manutia of the race when it become inherently obvious that You must build for Your RACe and venue. It is part of the derby. IMO
I’m relieved to say that I have zero experience in my pack dealing with parents with bad attitudes, weird politics, dads that don’t help out, etc. I’m fortunate to be with a great group of parents and kids. From my perspective, I can’t imagine someone having a good track and someone else having a bad track, and anyone saying, “I think we should use the bad track instead of the good track so hopefully the good cars will get broken so the inferior cars will have a chance.” If that type of conflict took place, I’d be shocked. And, I’d think that the parents missed an opportunity to teach their kid that hard work and fair play matters a lot more than politics.
I was there, saw this first hand, was a mess. I even pointed out that this didn't seem like a good idea. In our first heat we came in first, knocked the towel off the track so it couldn't stop the 2nd place car. It hit the ground, broke and I didn't see it again the rest of the day. I actually have this on video.
And it wasn’t like this race took place in a small church basement; this was at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Best venue for a pinewood derby ever! One pinewood derby nut on hand would’ve gone a long way!
I have a feeling you and I will need to be the nuts this year! I think I'll reach out to the Council and figure out whose in charge and volunteer for track set up.
We won’t be there. It’s on our kids’ spring break. We’ll be in Vail.
How’d your son do yesterday? And how’d that Tesla truck run?
Sorry you're going to miss. Yesterday was good, we use a point system (no timer) so don't know the times or margin of victory. Neither of us lost a heat though.
Awesome. That shows some extreme talent and creativity if you can make something shaped like that Tesla truck go fast.
What no one is talking about is that a wooden track does not breed a competitive car. The whole object is to allow a pack built car to continue to compete at the next level, ie. Districts, Council and then to a state championship or to Mid America or the world Championships. All with the same car. Wood tracks had their time, and if some complains bring up seatbelts, airbags, cell phones, internet and almond milk!! Just because it is new doesn't mean its evil or bad. Get with the times!
Yeah, that's the way I see it too. For the vast majority of kids, they're just there to have fun. Maybe they have their time to shine with basketball, baseball, science fair, or at a piano recital. My boys dream is to be an engineer. The school egg drop, pinewood derby, etc. These are his times to shine. When he plays basketball, nobody lowers the basket for him. In soccer, nobody says, "let's play on an uneven surface with a flat volleyball." If a wood track is all that is available, so be it. But if a better track is available, and someone says, let's use the wooden one to handicap the better cars, I just don't get it.
I agree that the Pack race should be such that a car can do well there then ALSO do well at Districts.
A also agree that there is nothing wrong with a parent that is really into the derby being in charge of it. You don't want the computer programmer dad that is active in the Pack teaching your kid repelling when you have a rock climber dad in the Pack.
My son's last year in CubScouts was a few yrs ago. We built a fast car ( see avatar) based on what we had learned here and from previous mistakes. We took 1st at Pack with track record and went to Districts. We showed up to the check-in table and the boy scout running check in had his cookies resting on the piece of test track they roll the car on. I didn't want to be "that dad" so I assumed the adult coming over would clean it off then test my son's car. The adult takes the cookies off and then rolls my son's car on the track getting huge crumbs on the wheels. He says looks good and starts to place it on the rack. I asked if we could take the crumbs off and he looked irritated and cleaned the wheels himself.
Our car was twice put on the starting line crooked at the pin so one front wheel was actually on the center rail. Other parents pointed it out both times since I didn't want to be "that dad".
My son took 1st place and set District Track record.
A few days later I call up the District and offer some suggestions for next year. A week later I'm contacted by the guy running the race for Districts and he says our car should've been DQ'd due to lights facing to the sides. I told him he should've notified us and we could've placed tape over them. He goes on to tell me my son didn't even work on the car and calls me a "helicopter dad". I didn't even know what that was.
I told him that a kid's car shouldn't get slower during the check-in process due to uneducated or inexperienced or JEALOUS inspectors. The next year there was a different track and crew running the race.
When my son went on to take 1st in the Northernstar Council race I sent him an e-mail and let him know.
A also agree that there is nothing wrong with a parent that is really into the derby being in charge of it. You don't want the computer programmer dad that is active in the Pack teaching your kid repelling when you have a rock climber dad in the Pack.
My son's last year in CubScouts was a few yrs ago. We built a fast car ( see avatar) based on what we had learned here and from previous mistakes. We took 1st at Pack with track record and went to Districts. We showed up to the check-in table and the boy scout running check in had his cookies resting on the piece of test track they roll the car on. I didn't want to be "that dad" so I assumed the adult coming over would clean it off then test my son's car. The adult takes the cookies off and then rolls my son's car on the track getting huge crumbs on the wheels. He says looks good and starts to place it on the rack. I asked if we could take the crumbs off and he looked irritated and cleaned the wheels himself.
Our car was twice put on the starting line crooked at the pin so one front wheel was actually on the center rail. Other parents pointed it out both times since I didn't want to be "that dad".
My son took 1st place and set District Track record.
A few days later I call up the District and offer some suggestions for next year. A week later I'm contacted by the guy running the race for Districts and he says our car should've been DQ'd due to lights facing to the sides. I told him he should've notified us and we could've placed tape over them. He goes on to tell me my son didn't even work on the car and calls me a "helicopter dad". I didn't even know what that was.
I told him that a kid's car shouldn't get slower during the check-in process due to uneducated or inexperienced or JEALOUS inspectors. The next year there was a different track and crew running the race.
When my son went on to take 1st in the Northernstar Council race I sent him an e-mail and let him know.
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