Cedar Point Cub Scout Pack Holds Pinewood Derby

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Cub Scout Pack 1384, run out of Cedar Point Elementary School in Bristow, held their Pinewood Derby competition Jan. 18.

To prepare for the competition, children, with the aid of their parents, relatives or family friends, carved toy racecars out of blocks of wood, added wheels and axles and decorated them in preparation for the Pinewood Derby race.

The race is mainly determined by how aerodynamic the cars are, as they roll down a wooden “racetrack”

with a steep decline. Gravity does most of the work, but the sleeker cars with slick axles tend to roll down more quickly than more boxy models.

“There are books and websites dedicated to it. Companies sell parts and tools. It’s very competitive,” Scout Master Ken Bocompani said.

In response, some parents work with children to make the cars as fast as possible, while others focus more on cool-looking designs. The three scouts with the fastest cars, based on their times in three races, win trophies. There are also three design-based trophies, plus multiple categories in which the boys can win medals by being best in categories based upon color or theme.

Father of two Scouts, Christopher Cole, said designing the fastest car in the race was not the most important factor for his family. Rather, he wanted to make sure his sons Kyle and Kyan took an active role in the activity.

However, Cole did bring his wife’s father to help out with the process. As he crafts guitars, their family decided to take advantage of his expertise. When it came to the design of the car, however, his boys choose for themselves. One wanted a curvy design and the other a more boxy one.

Some parents tried to combine both form and function, so their cars were both sleek and unique.

Nicholas Daly’s father said his family choose to do a bobsled theme, complete with four drivers, in celebration of the winter Olympics. And while speed was not his only concern, he admitted it was a consideration in the design.

“We did a lot of online research,” Daly said. “I have an older son, so I’ve done it before."

Mother Wendy Karpel said she and her husband worked on their son’s car, also bringing in a family friend.

“We had a friend who helped cut the car and helped make it aerodynamic,” she said.

The Karpels learned tricks about how to make the car drive faster, including keeping the vehicle's weight in the back, rather than in the front. They also learned that the water-based paint the kit suggests does not cover well, so instead, they recommend acrylic paint.

While parents focused on the engineering, the scouts were mainly concerned with having a car design that represented their ideas of what cool cars looks like.

Pete Teimouri, 9, was proud to design his car after a minion from “Despicable Me.”

Andrew Johnson, who won third place for speed with his arrow-shaped, low-to-the-ground car, said he did not even realize his design was more aerodynamic than many of the others.

“I was just going for scout spirit.  I didn’t know it would go fast,” Johnson said.

Most of the scouts were recognized with metals for their unique designs. Bocompani was glad the focus was on the family-friendly activity rather than who won the race.

“It’s really to build bonds between the parent and the child and work on the same thing together,” Bocompani said.

Speed Winners included 1st place Tanner Eaves, 2nd place Dezmond Austin and 3rd place Andrew Johnson. Design Winners were “Best in Show” Carter Warren, “Best Paint Job” Justin Brandt, and “Best Card Design” Thomas Glasgow.

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