It’s a simple series of events: the countdown of the starter, the click of the gate, the whoosh of wheels and the cheers of half a dozen aspiring engineers – and the Queen Anne Cub Scouts’ annual Pinewood Derby has begun.
Some go home with trophies, others leave slightly disappointed -- but all have fun designing their own unique vehicle and pitting it against those of other pack members.
Dozens of Queen Anne Cub Scouts from packs 70 and 72 gathered last Saturday at the Queen Anne Lutheran Church to race their handcrafted creations down a simple metal track.
Pinewood derby rules are simple – the fastest car wins. Each heat has six cars, and each car races six times, once on each of the six tracks to ensure no car was aided by a better lane. The Queen Anne scouts hosted six heats, and all of the heat winners competed against each other in one final race to see who would be the overall champion.
Anders Charlton became the derby’s master designer for a second time after winning two years ago. Like all racers, Anders had received the kit, which included a block of wood, wheels and various parts that are used to make the racer. The rest is up to him and his imagination.
Racers have to carve and sand the block until it is aerodynamic. Plus, they add little extras, like a cool paint job, and maybe a little lead to weigh the car down – a legal addition as long as it’s within certain weight limits.
Anders said had been working on the car for three weeks with his dad, Kelly, and was glad for the race to be over and watch all of his hard work take shape.
“I got the car three weeks ago, and have worked really hard. … I polished the axles and painted it and came up with the design,” Anders said. “It’s really a relief for it to be over.”
Kelly Charlton said that participating in a Cub Scout derby is a partnership between father and son, and that Anders did much of the work on the souped-up jalopy himself.
Even though his car didn’t take first prize overall, Quinn Elliott, a scout in the Tiger den, won first place in his heat and said that it “felt pretty good” to see his work pay off after three weeks of carving.
His father, Mike Elliott, said that being able to work with his son on the project was a great way to have fun, and put their creativity to the test.
“I’m not super mechanically inclined. … I tried to put a lot of effort into the project [with Quinn] and it was a simple design but it worked well,” he said.
But the derby wasn’t just about speed. The designs ran the gamut from simple to complex to ridiculous. A special trophy was awarded for the most creative car that raced. Contenders were narrowed down to cars shaped like Seattle’s iconic Space Needle and another like a rocket.
However, this year’s winner was slightly…tastier. Scout Jacob Cropp came up with the idea to make a derby car modeled after one of his favorite snacks–the Twinkie.
His car came pre-wrapped and slightly nibbled on He had worked with his dad to carve the wood block down and paint it perfectly to resemble the fluffy snack. He said he came to the competition with design in mind, and even though his car wasn’t the fastest, he was happy with the results.
“I came up with the idea and my dad and I painted it yellow and filled it with this fake cream to make it look real,” Cropp said. “It’s awesome to win.”
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