Scouts Pinewood Derby

Saturday April 13, 2024, at precisely 9:00 a.m. sharp was the check in date and time for the Annual Cub ScoutPinewoodDerbyhosted by Pack 121 at the Madill Church of Christ. The event began with each competing pinewood derby car getting weighed,measuredforlength and width, and inspected for regulation accuracy.

After registration, each car was placed on a table in its race category so that no further modifications could be made. The cars are only allowed to be adjusted and handled by the Scout for a allotted amount of time.

For anyone who may not befamiliarwiththepinewood derby car or perhaps those who just need a memory jog, this event is serious business to a Cub Scout. Scouting magazine notes that the first idea for a Pinewood derby was dreamed up in 1953 by Cub Master Don Murphy. It was inspired by his son Donn Murphy who was too young to compete in a full-sized soap box derby, leading to a smaller hoagie sized car that younger kids could craft and race.

The first of the races began on a simple wooden track with a block of pine, four plastic wheels, four nails for axles, and a Scout with an idea. After much work and design on a track and the car, the first official race was held May 15, 1953, in Manhattan Beach, Calif. Today, the Pinewood Derby car beginnings havenotchangedandtheperformance of the car has much to do with shape and weight. The idea of the car was not to build the fastest car but to have an event where kids and parent or guardian could work together on a car to compete in the derby.

It is no secret that a child under the age of 10 will need somehelpincraftingouttheir own Pinewood Derby car and the Pinewood Derby event is centered on those principles. The adage says, “It takes a village to raise a child”, and that couldn’t be truer when it pertains to a Pinewood Derby car in that it takes a village to make a car and host such a Derby.

A pit crew for the car is just one part of a Cub Scout Derby as an entire behindthe- scenes crew of volunteers is needed from organizers and track constructors and a whole lot more. This event is about getting out there and participating. Winning, although always important to a young Scout, is the last thing on the list. If it were first, then a winning car could simply be purchased on the internet and delivered to a front door or built by and any expert in a related field. So, in the overall picture, simply competing makes a winner in Scouts.

Win, lose or draw, Saturday’s Derby was a great success resulting in 27 Scouts entering in the morning race and 32 Scouts entering in the afternoon race. The packs represented were: 5, 33, 35, 45, 117 and 121.

The great news is that Saturday was not the end of the Pinewood zderby for this year in Scouting. Family Camp and Council Pinewood Derby is just around the corner April 26, 2024 at Camp Simpson and the event will include an Outlaw Derby that will allow a few different rules when it comes to cars and contestants.