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Sorry you had a rough time at the camperall. I am wondering, was this weekend trip actually planned for ALL aged scouts, or was it planned for BOY SCOUTS and the Cubs were just invited along? We had a similiar experience at a camp we went to as Webelos I. We spent a winter weekend at camp with the Boy Scout troop, and also had a Be Prepared theme. We had 12 different stations set up around the camp. We had a map to find each station and then complete the task at each station. One station had mock accidents set up, with the Cubs as victims. The Boy Scouts were the rescuers. The Cubs loved that. Another station had pretend water rescues, all ages could participate. They loved that too. Another station made us build using lashings. The Boy Scouts could do it. We were Webelos I - we didn't know how to do lashings - they were frustrated with that. Another station had us build a fire to melt snow to make water. You made the fire with only what you had with you. The Boy Scouts knew to bring matches. We're 5th graders, we don't carry matches - they were disappointed. Another station had them pulling their sled across a gully where they could have gotten hurt because they we to small to cross safely. The Boy Scouts could do it. We didn't let the Cubs do it. Again they were disappointed. My point is, the weekend was geared toward the Boy Scout aged boys. It was a camp designed basically for them, and the Cubs were invited along just to get an idea of what Boy Scouts was like. None of the leaders running the stations expected our Webelos to know how to do lashings or build fires. They just wanted the boys to get an idea of how to do these things. Could this have been the intent of your camp? Was it just to expose the younger Scouts to what Boy Scouts is like? If that was the case, then I'm not sure I would write any letters, because the camp volunteers did what they expected to do - set up a BOY SCOUT campout. If the camp WAS supposed to be set up for all ages, then I would suggest someone from the Cub Scout Pack volunteer to work with the Camp Committee. That way, next year, the Cub Scouts will have a voice in the programming and be able to have some Cub appropriate activities too. (I can't believe even a Boy Scout would want to sit through a 2 hour GPS presentation).

hmmm...interesting points Jerry. I guess I'm assuming all districts run their Derbies like we do. Our boys MUST weigh in and race their own cars. After all, it is their car! Parents are not allowed to be in the race areas (we even use our Webelo II boys as 'security' to make sure the cars are not disturbed). Over and over some boys trek from the scale to the "pit" to hot glue on another washer to up their weight to reach the exact gram. After final inspection the only one allowed to touch the car is the scout. He himself must put his car on the track to race, not even the adult working the release is allowed to touch it. So the concept that the boys don't know what the weights are, or that they are no where to be found when their car is racing is inconceivable. We do emphasize the that this is the BOYS project with adult help. Maybe our adults just don't have the nerve, or would be to embarassed, to stand up and shout for "their" car. Our adults seem to give the boys the credit. We also have a 'best of show' category, and the judges for that are told to look for the cars the boys made themselves (we dont' tell the boys or the adults this). That way the boys that did have to do it alone also get recognition. I've seen boy built cars fall apart on the track...I've seen Dad built car fall apart on the track. I've seen Dad built cars be disqualified for modifications. All in all, Dad built cars are no guarantee of a win. We've never tried a "building clinic". Maybe that would make some of the supposedly superior builder Dad's happy if they could run that??

I agree there is no easy solution to this. But does there really need to be? I think the only realistic answer is to relax and let it be. Encourage the parents to let the boys do the work, and then hope they do. Honestly, I think it bothers the parents more than the boys. We make all the restrictions to keep everyone's car equal, and we have the open race for everyone after the boys race. Other than that we let the boys, big and small, just have fun and we really enjoy seeing the different styles and varieties the adults (mmmm...I mean... the boys) have come up with. The big boys live vicariously through the small boys. The adult gets a thrill out of building the car, and the scout gets a thrill out of racing the car. It is very sad, though, to see the boy who DID make his own car look at the other cars made by the adults. That boy is crushed. It takes a very caring group of leaders to give that boy lots of praise for the hard work he did. If you really want the boys to do ALL the work themselves, the Pinewood Derby should be a Boy Scout event, not a Cub Scout event.

Congrats on your success ms! If we could all say we recruited 50% of the students we'd be thrilled! Whoa...I must be really sheltered! I've been a scout leader now for 5 years and I never realized we had to exclude atheists! Granted, not being able to preform the religious requirements sure hurts your chances of being an Eagle Scout, but at the Cub Scout level, the religious medals are optional. There are several other requirements for each award you can do instead of the religiously based ones.