Pinewood Derby

[Platypus96]

Hi all. I'm the chapter chief for my district, and I'm planning on doing a pinewood derby for a chapter meeting. If you were doing a pinewood derby, would you have the scouts buy cars themselves, or would you collect money from them and buy them all at once? I'm thinking it will be between 60 and 80 scouts. I see problems with both, and I don't know which one to go with. Any other advice on doing a pinewood derby would also be appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance!

[KC9DDI]

I guess there would be some advantages to buying them in bulk. Particularly, you may be able to negotiate a volume discount, you'll know that everyone will be provided with an identical kit to start with, and you can ensure that everyone has a roughly equal amount of time to work on their cars. The downside, obviously, is that its more work for you and other organizers.

 

I guess if I were in your shoes, and I was working with a group of trustworthy and responsible Boy Scouts, and was in relatively close proximity to a Scout Shop or other PWD car vendor, I'd leave it up to each Scout to purchase a car on his own. But, if for some reason you're concerned about cheating, etc, or maybe if the nearest Scout Shop is very far away, you might buy them in bulk.

 

Either way, if you're not going to be doing this during your council's standard "pinewood derby season," you may want to give your Scout Shop a head's up that you'll be looking for 80 or so PWD cars in a short period, as they might not keep that many in stock in the "off season."