Cub Scout Pack 114

Pack 114

2013 Pinewood Derby

Rules of the Race

The Standard Rules:

1)      The weight of the car should not exceed 5.0 ounces. The official race scale shall be considered final.

2)      The overall length of the car shall not exceed 7 inches.

3)      The overall width of the car shall not exceed 3.75 inches.

4)      The car must have 1.75 inches clearance between the wheels.

5)      The car must have 3/8 inch clearance underneath the body.

6)      You may use a "precut" car shape.  (Except Raptors)

7)      BSA official wheels must be used.

8)      The axles supplied with the wheels must be used. Nails (axles) may be polished.

9)      No wheel bearings, washers or bushings will be allowed.

10)   The car must not ride on any type of springs.

11)   The car must be free wheeling, no starting devices.

12)   No loose material of any kind will be allowed on the cars. (Other than the wheels)

13)   Only dry lubricants shall be used on the cars.

14)   First, second and third places will be awarded to each rank. (Tigers, Wolves, Bears, Pheonix, and Raptors) First, second and third trophies will be awarded to overall pack winners.

Some New Things: 

Note:  The pack has purchased a 4-lane pinewood derby track with a timer.  That is going to change up the way we race this year. 

15)   Initial Racing will be organized into 5 rank/groups:  Tigers, Wolves, Bears, Phoenix, and Raptors.

16)   Official weigh-in will be on Sunday from 12:45 to 1:45 p.m. at the Oak Hills Community Church. The race will begin promptly at 2 pm. ABSOLUTELY NO LATE ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED.

17)   Once all entries are checked in, cars within each rank/groups will be organized into 4-car heats.  If a rank/group does not have enough entries to make even 4-car heats, a Me-Too car will be added to the heat so that there are always 4 cars racing in each race.  (The Me-Too cars not eligible for awards.)

18)   Each ?heat? will consist of 4 races so that the cars may be rotated through all 4 tracks. 

19)   After all heats in a particular rank/group have raced,  overall 1^st/2^nd/3^rd places will be awarded in that rank/group based on the fastest average time.  In the event of an exact tie, a single race additional race will be run between the two cars,  and the winner of that race will break the tie. 

20)   The 5  1st place finishers ranks/groups will advance to the finals.  In addition, there will be 3 ?Wild Card? openings in the finals.  The Wild Card?s will be given to the 3 best average times in the whole derby who did not win a 1^st place ribbon. 

21)   The finals will consist of two-heats of 4 races each.  The over-all 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place trophies will be awarded based on the highest average time in the finals. 

Note:  Me-Too racers are not eligible to place in our contest.  However, all Me-Too racers will be allowed to race.  If they are not used as ?filler? cars in earlier heats, then we will run Me-Too races between the Rank/Group heats and the finals. 

Beyond the Track:  This year the boys will be allowed to vote on ?Superlative? awards.  The rules for this are as follows:

22)   As the cars are checked in, they will be moved to the staging tables.  Cars will be placed in number stations.  These numbers will correspond to numbered bags in front of the cars where votes may be placed. 

23)   After they check in, each boy will be given their voting tokens.  There is one token per category.  The boy should decide which car is the best in each category and put their token into the bag corresponding to the appropriate car.  (Though we have no way to enforce this, please encourage your scouts not to vote for their own car in more than one category.  This helps teach them how to give recognition to others.) 

24)   Voting will end when the racing begins.  During the races, volunteers will count the superlative votes.  The car with the most votes in each category will be awarded that title.  If there is a tie in a specific category, then the car that received the higher number of votes in any category will win the tie.  If that does not break the tie, then the car with the lower average time in their races will win the superlative category. 

25)   Superlatives winners will be announced after the final race.  YOU MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN.  If you are not present, the superlative title will be passed down to the boy receiving the next highest votes in that category. 

Some Additional Notes: 

1.  Sportsmanship - Please remind your scouts that this is an excellent time to practice their sportsmanship.  The boys are young and many have not yet mastered this, but scout competitions are a good time to practice being both winning with grace and losing with honor.  Talk to your scouts about this before the race and model good behavior for them at the race.   Many of our scouts are still learning how to cope with both excitement and disappointment, so as adults it is up to us to provide them with good role models. 

2.  Seating - We are holding the derby in a new venue.  However, scouts will have a separate seating area from parents and spectators.  The boys should, as much as possible, remain in the scout seating area and watch the races of the other scouts.