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--What is the Pinewood Derby?--
The Pinewood Derby is an annual event of the Cub Scouts (the young-age division of the Boy Scouts of America). It is the most popular event for many scouts and is probably the best known scouting event among non-scouts.
Description of the event
The scout is given a block of wood made of pine with two notches for wheels, four plastic wheels and four nails. The finished car must use all nine pieces, must not exceed a certain weight (usually five ounces), must not exceed a certain length and must fit on the track used by that particular scout pack.
Other than the previous basic design rules, the scout is able to carve and decorate the car as he chooses. Many scouts also add weights to the final design to bring the car to the maximum allowable weight.
The track usually has three or four lanes and slopes down to the ground as the cars are powered by gravity. The race is run in heats, giving every car the chance to run on each lane. The racers are grouped with racers from the same rank (Tiger Cubs, Wolf Cubs, Bear Cubs, etc.).
The first, second, and third place winners receive ribbons or trophies. Some packs also award on the basis of car design. The first place race winners get to go on to race first place race winners from the entire district and then each of the district-wide race winners get to race each other from across the entire council.
History of the Pinewood Derby
Cubmaster Don Murphy organized the first Pinewood Derby, which was raced on May 15, 1953 in Manhattan Beach, California, by Pack 280C. Murphy's son was too young to participate in the popular Soap Box Derby races, so he came up with the idea of racing miniature wood cars. The cars had the same gravity-powered concept as the full-size Soap Box Derby cars, but were much smaller and easier to build.
Since 1953, millions of young people have built Pinewood Derby cars. The races remain very popular and are a highlight of each year in many Cub Scout packs.
Pinewood Derby in Canada
In Canada, the equivalent is the Kub Kar, raced by Cubs. It uses the same basic pine block, nails, and plastic wheels kit. There are similar restrictions and guidelines for both construction and racing.
A Kub Kar event could also include other activities such as: rolling the car along the floor along a pre-determined path, trying to roll the car as close as possible to a target, knocking over targets, trying to pass through different sized holes, etc.
Typically, a rally will also include various awards to reward some of the Cubs for their designing skills.
While Kub Kars are very popular among the 8-10 year olds, younger members of Scouting can try Beaver Buggies while the older members can make and race pickup trucks and 18-wheelers.