HAL SMITH/DEMOCRAT
Cub Scouts, from left, Andrew Poteet, 8, Jack Geary, 8, Zach Allison, 8, Hunter Koetting, 10, Blake Lapine, 7, and Avery Mather, 9, watch as two cars cross the finish line during Saturday's Pinewood Derby in the Fred E. Davis Multipurpose Center.
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On the right track
Comments 0 | Recommend 0March 29, 2008 9:30 PM
It starts with a block of wood, four wheels and four nails, and ends with a patch, a trophy and a sense of accomplishment and pride.
For over 50 years, the Pinewood Derby has been bringing Boy Scouts together with the spirit of friendly competition. The Osage Trails District, which includes Benton, Pettis and Saline counties, held the annual district championship Derby on Saturday, at the Fred E. Davis Multipurpose Center at State Fair Community College.
“I was in Cub Scouts in the 1960’s and the Pinewood Derby is still my favorite thing to do,” said Dale Hogan, assistant Cub master for Troop 61 and Derby director. “We’re all competitive by nature and it’s fun to compete for bragging rights.”
Jonathan Cartner, district executive for Osage Trails and Kinderhook districts of Great Rivers Council of the Boy Scouts of America, said each scout is given a kit with the raw materials needed to build their car. It’s up to them to cut or carve the wood, sand and paint it, and get it ready to race. Each car can weigh no more than five ounces and measure no longer then seven inches.
The rules are simple, he said. Two cars compete against each other on a 48-foot track and the car that reaches the finish line first wins.
“Each pack in the district has already had their own individual Derby race,” he said. “The top three winners from those, brought their cars to race today. We’ll race each car four times and the fastest combined total goes on to the championship round.”
The four programs within the Cub Scouts, Tiger, Wolf, Bear and Webelo, were represented by nearly 100 Scouts. The races were timed to thousandths of a second and many times were a tight race to the finish. Cartner said the fastest time of the day was 3.687 seconds.
Eleven-year-old Orrey Atkisson, of Marshall, won first place in the Webelo division.
“I joined (the Scouts) in second grade and now I’m in fourth, so I’ve been going to the Pinewood Derby for a while now,” he said. “I really like it; it’s a lot of fun.”
Atkisson’s mother, Jamie, said she enjoys the Derby as well, “I love coming and cheering on my son and the other members of his pack,” she said. “It’s such a joy to see him smile and race his car.”
Randy Dyer, father of 8-year-old Bear, Kendall Kee, said he had fun building the car with his son and competing, “I like a little competition and the Derby is a good place for that,” he said. “Plus, the Scouts encourage a partnership between father and son, and that’s always important.”
Both Kee and Atkisson said the secret to a fast Derby car was a wedge shape, “I also like to wash the wheels really well,” said Atkisson. “It think it helps make it go really fast.”
Each Scout that participated in the race received a patch, donated by Dick’s Barber Shop, and the top three winners received a trophy, donated by Starline Inc. and Sierra Bullets.
“The Derby just a fun thing for kids and dads to do,” Cartner said. “It gives them the opportunity to build a car together and allows for family bonding from start to finish.”
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