Pinewood Derby Madness...(4-18-08)

Pack 4684's Annual Pinewood Derby was an absolute success!

All the elements came together for a perfect event.

The leadership kept things running smoothly. (mostly)
The track crew kept racing operations at a quick and exciting pace.
The parents and families of our boys showed their support with plenty of cheering and applause.
And the boys? Well, the Cubs brought some beautiful car designs and plenty of enthusiasm to the races.
No doubt about it, this was one for the history books.

Take a look!

There was a ton of work that went into the PWD before race day.
My job was to rustle up the trophies.

Not too shabby, eh?





On race day, the independent race officials that the Cubmaster contracted set up this way-cool aluminum track that had a spring-loaded starting gate, a cushioned backstop and even an electronic finish line!
Oh yeah, high...tech.








And here was the ringmaster behind the whole circus. I never did catch his name, but he ran a really clean race and kept the crowd on the edge of their seats. Nicely done.









The most tedious part of the race was the weigh-in. This brought upon many last-minute adjustments, hot-gluing and hole-drilling. But in the end, everybody got to race.







Finally, it was time to race.
The boys would line up their cars at the gate...







...the audience would chant "3...2...1...GO!!!"











...and the cars would zip down the track to the cheers of the crowd.











Once at the finish line, the boys would pick up their cars and run them to the start for their next run.






I was particularly proud of my little guy. Moreso, I was very proud of the way the other Cubs cheered for him and gave their support.We were one big happy pack family.







One of my favorite parts of the night was watching the faces of the boys as their cars were blasting down the track...










Their looks of anticipation and concentration were priceless!










Finally, the races came to an end and four Cubs rose above the rest to claim the trophies...


4th Place went to M.S. of our very own East Village Den.








3rd Place went to C.L., another East Village Cub.








2nd Place went to M.G.P., yet another East Village Cub!








But a clean sweep wasn't in our Den's future, thanks to the efforts of K.H., who scooped up the 1st Place trophy along with the fastest time of the night. Very impressive!






Yeah, it was definitely a night to remember.
For me, the greatest pleasure I got out of the event was watching the boys not only talk about the values of sportsmanship, but live them as well. And while not everyone got a trophy, nobody went home disappointed either.
Doesn't matter. To me, they're all winners.