A Georgia Girl in Germany

This was Zachary’s last year to participate in the Pinewood Derby since this is his final year as a Cub Scout. He began working on his car over New Years when Matt came out to visit, and was excited about his shark design. He had assembled the fins and we had begun painting it, when a neighbor commented on its size...hoping it wasn’t too large for regulation. So, a week before the derby, we asked for a clarification on size limits. Yup, the side fins made it too large.

Since we weren’t sure how easy it would be to get it within regulation, we made a trek to the local wood shop the Sunday before the derby and began work on a second car. Fortunately, Zachary had an extra kit from a previous year. He was excited about his second design, but still thought his shark car would compete better in the special categories (non-speed related). During the week, he worked to sand down the side fins on his shark car, while also completing his traditional car. Friday night, he had two cars to enter, and both were within regulation size. However, he was only allowed to enter one car. So, after testing both of them on the track before impounding them during race pre-registration, he chose design over speed and entered his shark. But since he wanted to see his other one race as well, he entered it in the open category under my name.

Before the Webelos competed their cars Saturday morning, they held their Raingutter Regatta. This event involves more participation from the scouts since they have to provide the wind-power for their boats as they race in raingutters. Zachary had a simple blue and gold design (blue and gold are the scouting colors), and had good lung-power to move his boat along. The trick to the regatta is blowing at a consistent speed at just the right spot on the sail. We didn’t practice in the bathtub before the race, but he won two races before being edged out in double-elimination. He wasn’t disheartened, and was pleased with his performance.

But, the big event was still to come.

During the previous four years of scouting, he’s had mixed results in the derby. He placed second in his den as a Tiger, then was awarded "Most Original" for a three-finned mutant shark car as a Wolf. His Bear and Webelos I years were less stellar, but he had good-looking cars (Red-White-and-Blue Patriotic and Harry Potter-themed). He really wanted to earn recognition this year, and was on pins and needles waiting to learn of the design winners...but had to wait until after the race.

His shark car definitely wasn’t built for speed, even with polished axles and graphite. He was a little disappointed that his car didn’t win a single race, but he recognized that the tail fin was probably creating too much wind resistance. But when the race concluded, and everyone gathered around to recognize the various boys and their cars, his shark design paid off. He was awarded "Best Body Design," and was ecstatic with a grin that reached from ear to ear. What a way to finish out his derby experience! Hopefully he’ll be able to put all his knowledge to good use to help Benjamin when he enters his first Pinewood Derby three years from now.

Labels: Cub Scouts, Zachary