Pinewood Derby

Pinewood Derby 2023-24

- The Derby will be held on March 16, 2024 in Eaton Hall at Trinity at 9am.

- We need volunteers to help set up on Friday night, March 15th 5:30pm to 7pm 

- The rules for the derby are pretty straightforward - most important is just to have fun with your kids while building and racing the car! 

RULES:

• You have to use the components in the kit as your base - no substituting special axles, wheels, pre-carved blocks, etc.  

• The max weight for your finished car is 5 oz.  The materials in the kit only add up to 3 - 4 oz.  Generally, you'll want your car to be as close to 5 oz as possible without going over - the extra weight helps pull the car down the track and complete the race.  You can use washers, fishing weights, coins, pre-made derby weights from Hobbytown or the internet, etc. to add the extra weight.

• We award trophies for speed and for creativity.  Some kids like to compete based on unique design.  Your car can look like a bar of soap or a cookie.  It does not have to look like a car.  It pretty much just needs the wheels to be in the right place and roll freely.

• Again, have fun!  If you want to put a lot of engineering into your build, there is a wealth of info on the internet, but many (most?) of our entries just stick to the basics, so don't feel you have to over-do it.

Notes:

• When you arrive we'll weigh each scout's car and register you for the race.  If you can't weigh your car before then, or you're over/under, don't panic, you can make last minute adjustments and we'll re-weigh.

• The scouts will race against the others in their rank.  We'll start with the Lions and work our way up to the older kids.  

• We likely won't race past noon... I think we only took 1-2 hours last year.  The kids generally have a great time and are very excited throughout. If attention spans flag or the excitement makes your child flame out though, it's OK if you need to leave early after your races.