Pinewood Derby Details
What: Pinewood Derby
When: Friday, Mar 2 @ 6:30 – 8:30pm (approx.)
Where: Church hall
Wear: Uniforms
Bring: Completed car, necessary tools for adjustments, cameras
Prizes: Trophies for winner of each age group and overall winner, medals for 2nd place in each age group, ribbons for third place in each age group and participation emblems for everyone
** Cars must conform to the official rules in order to compete. See www.pinewoodderby.org.
Please arrive between 6:15 – 6:30 so we can get everyone’s car weighed and checked-in
(To print, please use the attachment at the bottom)
BUILDING THE CAR
Check out www.pinewoodderby.org for full details and rules, along with lots of tips. Or if you Google "Pinewood Derby", you'll find plenty of ideas for designing the cars and tips on making it faster. AC Moore and Michaels have extra supplies, like decals, graphite lube, etc. In order to make sure our winners are not disqualified at the district event, we will follow the official rules for the District Pinewood Derby (which can be found at www.pinewoodderby.org), with the exception of #7 - we will allow graphite at the church. (I don’t know if these rules are the same as those in the box, so use ours to be safe.)
Be sure the car isn't TOO HEAVY (max 5oz.) One mistake many parents make is adding the weight directly to the bottom of the car without hollowing out a space for it. This may effect the clearance and it will get "hung up" on the track. Please pay attention to all specs in the rules. We WILL be checking the cars' specs to keep everything fair, and to make sure our winners are allowed to race in the regional final in Westwood.
Finally, please remember these cars are supposed to be built by the boys. While parents are expected to do a lot of the work for younger boys, it's not supposed to be the parents pitting their engineering marvels against each other. Please make sure your scout is doing SOMETHING, like helping to sand or spraying the paint, etc, (and learning the skills to do more of the project next year.) It's supposed to be a bonding experience as you work on the car together.
For siblings who feel left out, Michaels (and AC Moore, I think) sell $1 wood car kits that are simple to assemble and paint. I’m glad to take a couple extra minutes to have a “siblings race” at the end of the official competition if there is interest.
DERBY NIGHT
We'll start promptly at 6:30, so we can have everything done and broken down before 9pm. Matt has offered to be our Derby Chairperson, and he'll need volunteers to help with the setup that night, probably starting around 5:30. Please email him if you can help. (mitovich@gmail.com) We'll also need volunteers to help check in the "drivers" and weigh the cars, operate the timing gates, and record scores.
We'll be weighing cars using a Salter digital food scale, exact to 1/8 of an ounce. (I'll have it in my car in the weeks before the race, so find me at the lower level pick-up if you want to pre-weigh your car.) Any car that's over 5.0 oz., even by 1/8 of an ounce, will not be allowed to race. We will have a table set up the night of the race where parents can remove/add weight and make any last minute adjustments.
Once the car is officially checked-in, it must be surrendered to race operators and not touched again until after competition. (Take happy, excited photos BEFORE checking in the car! He can’t get it back until after the race, and if you’re child wasn’t the lucky winner, you won’t get the same excited smile.)
HOW THE DERBY WORKS
This is a timed event, with electronic timing sensors attached to the start and finish gate. Usually we have boys compete against their own age group, with each car running twice. We’ll average those times together and the car with the best average time wins. Each age group will be awarded prizes for first, second, and third place. Then we'll have the first place winners from each age group compete, to find the fastest car overall. Official judging stands, even if a car’s time was faster/slower in the previous “heat.” Prizes will be awarded at the end of the night. (If we decide to have an outside contractor run the race, these procedures may change slightly.)
One winner from each grade will be qualified to compete in the district regional Derby on Saturday March 10th in Westwood. Please mark your calendar now, in case your son is the lucky champion.
See the attachment below for the official rules. Call or email me if you have questions.
And Have Fun!!
Helpful Resources:
Official rules:
http://www.pinewoodderby.org/
http://www.scoutorama.com/derby/
http://www.maximumvelocity.com/speedtip.htm