KELSEYVILLE >> The annual pinewood derby for the Cub Scouts of the Boy Scouts of America traces its roots back to May 15, 1953, when the first derby was held in Manhattan Beach, California. Cub Scout pack 145 out of Kelseyville and Lakeport pack 142 kept the tradition alive this Saturday at the Kelseyville Presbyterian Church, where 30 boys sent their small, hand built cars down a metal racetrack.
Of the 30 cars entered, the 12 fastest raced again, after two timed heats. Then the six quickest competed for the top three places until one finally prevailed. The three finalists received trophies and two particularly creative kids were awarded with best of show metals for their miniature vehicles.
Coming in first place was Isaac Hassberg Schetter with a small blue speedster, followed closely by Anthony Simondi, who built a car splashed with color. In third was Alessandro Simondi, also sporting a multi-colored vehicle. Hunter Lewis won best in show for his little racer, which had impressively been carved into an animal. Coming in second for best in show was Aiden Reider and his Minecraft-themed car.
“The purpose of the pinewood derby is for [Scouts] to build something from start to finish and to have a sense of accomplishment,” said pack 145 Cubmaster Suzanne Emerson. “It”s an opportunity for the boys to work with their parents to build something on their own while following a set of rules and instructions — and then to have fun.”
While there is certainly a competitive aspect to the derby, the adults are more concerned with the Scouts enjoying themselves, even if some kids are a little sore after a loss. “It”s more fun than competition,” said Ed Schulman, the committee chair of pack 142. “Besides competition, I like the idea of how everybody gets together and works well together.”
In the past, before a derby the pack leaders would have the scouts watch a film called “Down and Derby” to teach a few important lessons. “It”s about fathers taking over,” Schulman explained. “They”re just out to win, win, win and they come to find out ? sportsmanship and being honest is more important than winning, which it really is.”
Even though his own son graduated from the Cub Scouts, Schulman has continued to help with the pinewood derby for 6 or 7 years. “I enjoy the creativity that I see from the scouts,” he said. “It”s teamwork, working with their parents. In Lakeport we”re able to take our scouts to a cabinet shop ? and they allow us to use their equipment. They learn safety and power tools, organization and creativity.”
While parents do assist with some of the technical aspects of a car, it”s the child who puts in most of the effort. “This idea is for the child to really do the work and with guidance from their parents,” said Emerson. There are no rules for how much effort someone has to put in and the time spent on each car varies greatly. “Some of them were just the block with wheels put on it and some of them were really intricate and delicate. It just depends on what they want to do.”
Each Scout receives a kit with a wooden block, axles and wheels and a set of instructions. What they do next is up to them. “They have to use what”s in their kit and then they go from there, and they can take creative license, as long as it”s within their rules,” Emerson said. Rules include that the car be no more than 2.75 inches wide and 7 inches long and weigh less than 5 ounces. Cub scouts are also prohibited from using wheel bearings, washers and bushing and the cars cannot ride on any springs.
The event even mimicked professional races to an extent. “We did two practice runs and then after each they were able to go to the pits like you do NASCAR,” said Schulman. Boys could adjust their wheels and add lubrication.
All of the contestants were either from the Kelseyville or Lakeport pack, though Schulman hopes that the entire county will collaborate in the future. “This is our second or third year competing with Kelseyville,” he said. This has been especially advantageous to Kelseyville, who lack a racing track. But the Lakeport pack is happy to help out. “They don”t have a track and so it”s nice that we”re able to bring it to them,” Schulman said, explaining that they rotate the derby between the towns each year. “The tracks are kind of expensive. We try and get together every year.”
But there are more perks to teaming up than sharing a track. “We collaborate with Lakeport because we think it”s fun for them to get together and see the same kids they see at camp,” Emerson said.
Saturday was an especially successful event, running significantly shorter than previous years. “So far, this is the best one, it turned out very well,” Schulman said. “We used a different format ? We”ve had it before where it went hours throughout the day and the parents lose interest. So this year we tried real hard to just push it through.”
Schulman is hoping for more collaboration in the future from the other packs in the area. “We”re just trying to get the whole Lake County to have one big race ? But we haven”t been able to organize all the packs in Lake County because of the time frame or distance,” he said.
Even though other packs don”t hold their pinewood derby races at the same time, Lakeport does lend a helping hand to groups in need. “I”ve taken the track down to Clearlake to help them set up and run it down there,” Schulman said.
Parents don”t want to miss out on this fun and Schulman is looking to organize an event for adults down the road, involving open heats without many rules and restrictions. For inspiration he”s turned to the Blackhawk 500, a pinewood derby with a category for adults. Schulman said that many of the cars appear to be cut and trimmed using lasers, in pristine showroom quality. “So hopefully we can get together and organize something like that,” he said.
But the scouts won”t be left out. “I thought of having the kids do the judgment,” said Schulman, explaining that there are multiple categories a scout”s car can win. “Most energy efficient ends up being the slowest car, the sharpest, the shiniest, the most creative. So there”s a variety of different things it can be judged on.” Schulman would like to have adults race on Friday night and let the children choose the winners, while the kids continue to compete in their traditional race on Saturday where adults are the decision makers. “I think we need to do that,” he said.
There appears to be a bright future for many pinewood derby races to come. “I hope that everyone gets an opportunity to share in the pleasure of racing,” Schulman said.
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
