Ladies and Gentlemen,

Start your engines! It is once again time for the annual Pack 393 Pinewood Derby! The race is at the First Baptist Church on February 25th. Key information is below:

Car Build-It Clinic: TBD - will be announced in next couple days. In addition, Lowes also has a build-it clinic on Saturday February 4th (call store for times).

Vehicle Check-In and Registration: Tuesday, February 21st - 7:00 to 8:30 pm.
Where: First Baptist Church
• Please note that ALL cars must be registered by Tuesday, February 21st, 8:30 pm to qualify for the race.
• Once cars have been registered, weighed, and certified, they will remain in the hands of race committee until the end of the competition.

Race Day : Saturday, February 25th - 9:30 am
Where: First Baptist Church

• The scouts will compete in the following groupings
o Webelos (I&II together)
o Bears
o Wolves
o Tigers
• Awards include 1st and 2nd place Speed, Craftsmanship and Originality for each grouping PLUS overall Speed for the entire Pack
• NO GRAPHITE WILL BE ALLOWED IN THE BUILDING day of the race. Scouts will lubricate the cars at the time of registration.
• Each heat will be announced.
• Scouts and all other spectators must remain behind the tape. Seats will be set up to allow spectators to see the race.
• The starter will make sure the cars are on the track properly and then will start the race.
• Results will be electronically recorded at the finish line.
• 1st place winning cars in speed, Craftsmanship and Originality in each grouping will be permitted to go on to the District race March 10, 2012.
• An outlaw race for siblings and family members will be held after the scout races. The outlaw race does not have weigh/size limitations so long as the cars do not damage the track, other cars, or people.

The Official Rules

Only one car may be registered by any person in the Pinewood Derby. Each car must pass inspection by the official inspection committee before it will be allowed to compete. The Inspection Committee has the responsibility to disqualify those cars that do not meet these specifications.

The following are the inspection points:
1. The wood block, wheels and nails for the car must come from the official BSA Pinewood Derby Car Kit.
2. The car weight shall not exceed 5.0 ounces. The official race scale shall be considered final.
3. The overall length of the car shall not exceed 7 inches.
4. The overall width of the car shall not exceed 2 ¾ inches.
5. The car must have 1 ¾” clearance between the wheels.
6. The car must have 3/8” clearance underneath the body.
7. The wood provided in the kit must be used. The block may be shaped any way that is desired.
8. The wheels and axles supplied with the kit must be used. The wheels may not be cut, drilled, beveled or rounded. You may lightly sand the wheels to remove the molding seam on the tread. Axles may not be grooved. You may remove burrs and polish the axles. No other wheel/axle changes are allowed.
9. The original wheel slot distance in the wood must be used - you may not change the original wheelbase.
10. The axles supplied with the kit must be used. They may be polished or lubricated.
11. Wheel bearings, washers or bushings are prohibited.
12. The car must not ride on any type of springs.
13. The car must be freewheeling, with no starting devices.
14. No loose material of any kind, such as lead shot, may be used.
15. The car body may have no moving parts.
16. Cars constructed for previous Pinewood Derbies are not eligible to compete.
17. Details such as the steering wheel, driver, decals, painting, and interior detail are permissible as long as these details do not exceed the maximum length, width, and weight specifications.
18. Only dry lubricants such as graphite or powdered teflon “white lube” will be allowed for lubricating the wheels. Lubricants may not foul the track. NO LUBRICANTS WILL BE ALLOWED IN THE BUILDING on the day of the race. Scouts will lubricate the cars at the time of registration.
Racing Rules:
1. If during the race the car loses a wheel, or is otherwise damaged, the racer shall have 5 minutes to make a repair or the car is disqualified.
2. If a car leaves the track, runs out of its lane, interferes with another car, loses an axle, etc., the heat will be rerun. If the same car gets into trouble on the second run, the contestant is disqualified and automatically loses that race. If, on the second run, another car is interfered with, the heat will be run a third time, but without the disqualified car.

40 Patriots Point Rd
Mt Pleasant, SC 29464-4377

Each person must bring:

• a sleeping bag
• pillow
• shampoo
• deodorant (non-aerosol)
• toothpaste
• soap
• towel
• wash cloth
• all other necessary personal effects
• Insect repellent (non-aerosol) is advisable

The general schedule will look like the following (I will send out an update to this once they post our official schedule):

Friday: 9 Dec

6:00 PM Check in and board the ship
8:00 PM Movie in the Ship’s Theater
9:45 PM Fire Drill
11:00 PM Taps (lights out)

Saturday: 10 Dec

7:00 Reveille (wake-up)
7:55 AM Meal
9:00 Ship museums open (pick up box lunches)
10:00 Boat to Ft. Sumter
Afternoon - return from Ft. Sumter
5:30 Dinner
7:00 Leave for Ghost and Graveyard Tour in Charleston ($10 per person - I’ve gotten spots for 69 people, but there is an onboard movie if folks want to stay on the ship. The $10 has already been paid and you will need to pay back the Pack or Troop if you take one of the slots, but you don’t need to carry money on the trip for this)
9:30 PM return back to the Yorktown. There is a movie going in the ship’s theater (it starts at 9 p.m.)
11:00 PM Taps (lights out)

Sunday: 11 Dec

6:00 AM Reveille (wake-up)
6:50 AM or 7:15 AM Meal call
9:00-10:00 Check out/Disembark - you are free to tour the ship and museum or sight-see in Charleston or head on back to the Triangle

All,

One more thing on the Yorktown Trip, we will need to meet and leave from the Church building in Morrisville no later than 11 a.m. on the morning of the 9th in order to make sure that we get to our boarding point by 5 p.m.
(MapQuest says the trip will take about 4 hours and 45 minutes without stopping, so I’m figuring it will take us at least 5 to 5:30 minutes with a stop or two for a meal and rest-stops).
Thus, you will need to be making plans for your kids to get off from school. Should be an excused absence given the historical nature of the trip (Yorktown and Ft. Sumter).

Thanks,

Randy

All,

There is a Troop and Pack Committee meeting this coming Thursday, December 1 at 7 p.m. We will be discussing several things, including the Yorktown trip and Troop and Pack Rechartering in December. Given that we only have one Pack meeting in December, it will be important for everyone who can to come to this meeting.

So every parent of a kid who has signed up for this event needs to attend to coordinate plans for the trip down and when and where to meet that Friday night so that we can get onto the ship as a group. I’m working on scheduling a Charleston Ghost tour on Saturday evening, but this is going to be an extra cost, so you can let me know at the meeting if you will be able and want to attend. I hope to have more details on the cost that night.

Here is a link to the Patriot’s Pointe website with recommended “What to Bring?” on the trip:
http://www.patriotspoint.org/pdf/pod/4301491111043420.pdf

In addition, we need to discuss plans for additional roles on the Troop and Pack Committee and as we recharter, I need to know who in the Pack would like to/be interested in stepping in as Cubmaster. There will be some training required to fulfill this role and we need someone willing to commit to this in order to recharter the Pack (i.e. before the end of December). I’m not sure when the training will be given again, so hopefully the District will let us recharter with a Cubmaster who has not been fully trained yet. We’ll see.

Thanks everyone and let me know if there are any additional agenda items that we need to discuss.

See everyone on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the church building.

Randy