I have 2 suggestions. One is not really "Pinewood Derby" related as far as
the race itself is concerned, but the race itself creates the atmosphere
for a fund raiser that any outpost should not miss if possible.
1)
For those of you whose church has a kitchen area, combine the derby with
food service. This will make a great fund raising opportunity for your
outpost.
You will need people that can man the food area that will not be involved
in the race.
Make sure to schedule the race late in the morning (10:00 or so) so that
you can serve pasteries. The race will run well into the lunch hour.
Make sure to have available things like chili, hot dogs, chili hot dogs,
nachos, soda (you can usually get the store brand of soda for about $0.12
a can and sell it for $0.50+), chips, candies (red licorice, candy bars,
etc.) We have a church member who does food service to the needy, and as
such has a membership to the local food bank. He is always able to get
things like soda, chips, bread; i.e. hot dog buns. This helps to keep the
cost to the outpost down. Check around to see if this can work for you as
well.
Make a menu of what's available with pricing. Make the prices in round
increments of $0.25 if possible. Making change is much easier this way.
2)
We try to schedule a "work day" 4-5 weeks in advance of the race itself.
We set up a Saturday morning at some place convenient to all rangers
wishing to work on their cars.
We try to have as many power tools as possible set up. Last year we had a
band saw, scroll saw, drill press, power sander, drill and sanding blocks
available.
If possible, make sure the dad can come with the boy. Also, make sure that
you have as many commanders as possible there. That way, if very few dads
do show up, there will be enough adult supervision for the tools available.
Try to have a lead station set up for weighing the cars and bringing them
close to the 5 oz. weight. They can not be brought to exactly 5 oz.,
because the addition of glue for the axles and paint will take them over
the limit, necessitating the removal of some weight. Putting on as much
weight as possible at this time though, allows for a cleaner finish of the
car than trying to do it after the car is finished.
As much as possible, we try to drill out a section in the middle or near
the front of the car, and pour in molten lead to bring up the weight of the
car. Doing this before finishing the car ensures the finished product does
not get damaged by this step.
Many people put on the "screw on" weights you can get specifically for this
purpose at hobby stores. There have been a few times, though, where we
have had these weights come off during the race. (Things like this will
happen. Make sure at the start of the race you announce the "rules of the
race". One of the rules should be that "Should a car experience problems
of a mechanical nature, the owner; and dad; will have 5 minutes to repair
the car")
Hope this helps.
"White Heart" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> on 10/15/2000 02:04:36 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
cc: (bcc: Robert D Hamilton/Page Digital)
Subject: Re: [RR] pinewood derby question
Our Outpost has been doing Pinewood Derby races for about 12 years now & we
still enjoy it more every year!
As far as tools go, Everything from a coping saw & a few pieces of
sandpaper
to scroll saws & belt sanders can be used to shape pine cars. If you are
just starting out, or helping several boys at a time, keep it simple. If
you
are loking for ideas, just search the web & you'll find tons of info about
tools, car designs, track plans, race ideas, etc...
Here are a few of the things we have incorporated over time to keep
everyone
involved & interested in pinewood derby...
1. Have a People's Choice Award. Everyone attending the race votes one time
for their favorite car. Give a trophy or ribbon for the winner.
2. Invite the Missionettes to build cars & race them in their own division.
(All of our girls race in one large division, not seperate age groups)
3. Have an Open Class where anyone who wishes to can race a car. (Maybe
some
of the dads will let the boys do more of the work if they can enter a car
of
their own)
Anybody out there got any more ideas for running a successful race? Our own
race is Nov. 4 and we're always open to new ideas!
Gary Haas, White Heart, FCF'92, OP86 Danville, IL
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