Pinewood Derby

The pinewood derby is one of the most popular and successful family activities in Cub Scouting. Pinewood derby cars are small wooden models that Cub Scouts make with help from their families. Then they race the cars in competition. The cars are powered by gravity and run down a track. Most packs have a pinewood derby every year. It can be run indoors or outdoors. Every boy can design and build his own "grand prix" car to enter in the race.

Racing in a Pinewood Derby is great fun. You'll get to design your racing vehicle, work with a parent to build it, and see it perform on race day. Win or lose, you'll take pride in having done your best. When you race in a Pinewood Derby derby, you learn craft skills, the rules of fair play, and good sportsmanship - things you will remember all your life.

WE NEED VOLUNTEERS! We would like the leaders to be with their sons during their den races. To do this, we need parent help. Please consider helping with one or two of the other den races. We also need help on Saturday the 11th and the Friday night before the race, setting up the track. If you are willing to help, please contact Mr. Poad.

Our Pinewood Derby

The 2012 Pack 3371 Pinewood Derby will be on Saturday, February 18th. It will be held at Christ United Methodist Church. The 2012 Pinewood Derby Official Rules and Regulations are available right here.

Pinewood derby car kits were distributed at the pack meeting in December. If you were unable to attend, please contact Doug Poad.

Due to the large size of the Pack this year, race start times will be staggered by dens. The schedule is posted below. Also, we will be serving pretzels to keep everyone from getting hungry.

Registration will begin a half hour before each den race. Since it does take some time to check over the cars, we recommend arriving at least twenty to fifteen minutes before the start of the race. If you don't check in before your den's race starts, you won't be able to race. The Pack championship will have the top two cars from each den; these scouts need to return at least ten to fifteen minutes before the final race begins.

Pre-registration

Come and try out your Pinewood Derby Car before the big race!!! This is an opportunity to see how your car performs on the track and to make sure your weight is correct. Pre-registration is not required, but if you have never made a Pinewood Derby car before, this is your best opportunity to improve its performance before the race

We will meet in the narthex (lobby) of Christ United Methodist Church from 10-noon on February 11th.

Pinewood Derby Workshops

Von Tobel will again host workshops for Cub Scouts to work on their Pinewood Derby Cars. The workshops will be held January 7th and 14th. All of the workshops will be from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm and are free and open to all Cub Scouts.

The Pack will also be holding workshops at Doug Poad's house, 130 Kingfisher Court, Lafayette (see map to right). These will be from 7 to 9 PM on January 26th, from 1-3 PM on Sunday, January 29th, and from 7-9 PM on Friday, February 3rd. These workshops are open to cub scouts in Pack 3371 only.

Parents' Race

For those parents that still love to build cars, there will be a parents' race after the official Scout race. The rules for the parents' cars are exactly the same as for the boys'.