Early Cub Scouts Pack 4 held their Pinewood Derby on Saturday as scouts showed their car building skills as their creations raced to the finish line.
As a long held tradition in the Cub Scouts, the Pinewood Derby teams an adult coach and a Cub Scout as they design, carve, paint, weigh, refine, and race the car. The race takes place in 3 car heats and is divided by age groups. Awards were presented for the fastest times in each group and then an overall grand champion is chosen in a final race of the first place winners.
Grand champion this year was awarded to Nathan Mitchell. A best of show award was also given based on creative car design which was given to Torin Olufs.
While the exhilaration of the actual race lasts only moments, the Pinewood Derby experience lasts a lifetime. The benefits, for Cub Scout and adult, are discovered through the derby process itself: strengthening bonds, sharing responsibility, developing teamwork, learning new skills, exercising creativity, building sportsmanship, and making new friends.
Racing in the Pinewood Derby creates a bond between a Cub Scout and all those who have raced before, as well as those who will follow to participate in this same tradition. Walk up to any Boy Scout—youth or adult; if he participated in a derby, his memories will resemble those of all other participants in the history of the event.
The first Pinewood Derby was held in 1953 by Cub Scout Pack 280C of Manhattan Beach, California, operated by the North American Aviation Management Club. It was the brainchild of Cubmaster Donald Murphy. The derby, publicized in Boys’ Life in October 1954, was an instant and enduring hit. The magazine offered plans for the track and car, which featured “four wheels, four nails, and three blocks of wood.”
See photos from the event in the photo gallery below.
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