Preventing a 3-peat?

["The Fonze"]

My son recently won a ‘3 Peat’. We held a workshop and I provided links to good online tutorials and it helped. We also were in charge of the Derby which meant taking on the task of sanding and polishing a 4 lane besttrack. The scout’s cars were faster and there was better competition. Unfortunately when he won there was less clapping for him then then 2nd - 4th place which I thought was unsportsmanlike. Below is a photo of his car and a video of 'Butter' in action.

 

[Mojo Racing]

Alphonso...

Maybe your next class should be on sportsmanship.

 

[Vitamin K]

My son and I won our pack derby last 2 years by wide margin. I am worried about winning 3rd year. Should I try to sabatoge his car without him knowing it? Is that ethical?

Found the Democrat voter!

Kidding aside, I like the idea of taking time to share the things you've learned with other families. You can be completely open about your build process. Most people will be too lazy to take the time it requires to be the fastest.

 

[Mojo Racing]

That is sooooooo true...

I give at least a dozen presentations to packs in the area, and to the University of Scouting in the area.

They even get a copy of the presentation with my number and e-mail on it... and you know what? One of three things happens... They either lose the presentation on the way home, they think they can build a better car than I can without the presentation information, or they don't care.

When I go to the races that these packs have, maybe one person went through and at least tried to do a couple of the things that I put in there.

If you gave information, and your son built the best he can, kick butt... the others will just have to take it.

 

["The Fonze"]

Hey Jay (MOJO), LOL yes I will definitely need to give a class on sportsmanship ... especially for next year when my son wins his 4-peat .....

 

[bracketracer]

Since I’m sitting here looking at five pack championship trophies I guess I fall into the “Do Your Best” camp also. LOL

I don’t worry about what other parents say or think. We did post an 11 page document on the pack’s website that explained exactly what my boys do but no one follows it completely, some tried a few things but almost no one asks questions or asks for help.

I figure it’s fair since I don’t complain when I’m the last to get our tent set up at campouts.....lol

 

[embyday1]

"do your best" is a tough thing. Could I take over an make his car faster? Maybe?. I explained COM to him and he watched a youtube video on the subject. He still put it too far back (right at .5 inch). I did not interfere. The drift on his railride is too extreme (3 inches over 4 feet), I did not interfere and he said "good enough". I explained the principles to him and setup the tools, but if he screws it up thats up to him. He insisted he needed a big gun turret. not making it faster. He said he saw in a youtube video that aerodynamics wasn't that important. His car.

I think I'm more excited this year than in the past. He may not win but he will feel very proud if he does.

Last year he was a bit upset that kids were sating I built his car, he said "but I worked really hard on it"

 

[FDM]

"do your best" is a tough thing. Could I take over an make his car faster? Maybe?. I explained COM to him and he watched a youtube video on the subject. He still put it too far back (right at .5 inch). I did not interfere. The drift on his railride is too extreme (3 inches over 4 feet), I did not interfere and he said "good enough". I explained the principles to him and setup the tools, but if he screws it up thats up to him. He insisted he needed a big gun turret. not making it faster. He said he saw in a youtube video that aerodynamics wasn't that important. His car.

I think I'm more excited this year than in the past. He may not win but he will feel very proud if he does.

Last year he was a bit upset that kids were sating I built his car, he said "but I worked really hard on it"

Depending on the track he might get away with 0.5 inch, the drift is good and he might actually need more drift with such an aggressive COM. This year our COM was about 0.59 inch with an 3 inch drift and ran smooth on a wooden and aluminum track, we ran extended wheel base though.
My son experienced the same last year, other kids stating that they build the cars themselves, implying that he didn't. That was good motivation for my son to do even more work himself this year (I still helped here and there and set things up for him). This resulted in a car that was actually faster then last years (to my surprise since the weight placement was a bit more conservative) and my son proud of his win.

 

[Reggie]

That is sooooooo true...

I give at least a dozen presentations to packs in the area, and to the University of Scouting in the area.

They even get a copy of the presentation with my number and e-mail on it... and you know what? One of three things happens... They either lose the presentation on the way home, they think they can build a better car than I can without the presentation information, or they don't care.

When I go to the races that these packs have, maybe one person went through and at least tried to do a couple of the things that I put in there.

If you gave information, and your son built the best he can, kick butt... the others will just have to take it.

Come to Pennsylvania our pack would love it!

 

[SuperSlow]

Hey Reggie where is osceola mills? We are Harrisburg area.

 

[Mojo Racing]

Hahahaha... Take a pack trip... I live about 3:15 west of you... you can pack it up... head west, have lunch, we can do the presentation, then head home...

Day trip! ! ! !

In fact, if your leaders are interested, our council will be having the University of Scouting on March 3... maybe you can come and check it out... make an early run though... my class starts at 09:00

 

[Reggie]

Hey Reggie where is osceola mills? We are Harrisburg area.

About an hour and forty five north. Fifteen minutes west of State College.