HELP! Race tomorrow!!!

General race coordinator discussions.
Post Reply
Utecharger
Apprentice
Apprentice
Posts: 18
Joined: Sat Dec 27, 2008 2:14 pm
Location: Herriman, Utah

HELP! Race tomorrow!!!

Post by Utecharger »

I am not one for drama but I am afraid that I may cause some with a situation that has arisen. A lot of boys didn't show up to the weigh in last night so my wife called the remaining boys to get there numbers and such and tell them that they have to come extra early to get weighed in. Well a couple of the boys parents told her that they are just going to race last years cars, including the winner from last year!!!! I never stated that you can't race a previously years car because I figured that it was just common knowledge but for a winning car to race again just seems very wrong.

I would have told them it wasn't allowed but I wasn't the one who talked to them and now I have to call them and try and explain it.

Any suggestions on how to handle this would be greatly appreciated. :D
Gameday
Master Pine Head
Master Pine Head
Posts: 277
Joined: Mon Mar 13, 2006 12:50 pm
Location: Madison, WI

Re: HELP! Race tomorrow!!!

Post by Gameday »

One solution is to allow old cars to race in a special division, perhaps the Open class.
User avatar
PWD_addict
Master Pine Head
Master Pine Head
Posts: 705
Joined: Mon Jan 22, 2007 10:35 am
Location: Middle River, Maryland

Re: HELP! Race tomorrow!!!

Post by PWD_addict »

That's a tough one.

I would strongly suggest that you play dumb . . .
"Hey, didn't you race that car last year? You can't race last year's car."
"Where is that in the rules?"
"Everyone knows you can't race last year's car to win this year's trophies. Since I've heard some other people say they were planning to bring previous year's cars, we're going to have a special race at the end."

OR

Tell them they can race but can't win a trophy or go to the Finals.

You will have some VERY unhappy boys if they find out that previous years' cars beat them. Letting them race but not trophy or move to the Finals seems a fair compromise.

Now, after tonight is over, start writing up more detailed rules for the next race!!!!
Teeeman
Pine Head Legend
Pine Head Legend
Posts: 1577
Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2005 1:40 pm
Location: Huntsville, AL

Re: HELP! Race tomorrow!!!

Post by Teeeman »

Good luck...


best solution is to remember if it is not in the rules, folks assume it IS legal...

I would recommend to fix the rules for next year.


But watch out, if you try to fix all the loopholes the next complaint will be you overdid it.

But the same folks who will complain will be the very ones to legal-ese their rationale for their "secret weapon" when they show up raceday.

They'll also be the ones to complain the rules are too complex as they spend time scouring them for loopholes or omissions to exploit to their advantage.

-T
"I dunno..." - Uncle Eddie, Christmas Vacation
User avatar
Nitro Dan
Master Pine Head
Master Pine Head
Posts: 327
Joined: Fri Jun 02, 2006 3:11 pm
Location: Felton, PA

Re: HELP! Race tomorrow!!!

Post by Nitro Dan »

Teeeman is right. Best thing to do is let it go and change the rules next year. Any other way and you are sure to have people complaining.

-Nitro Dan
Take good and make it great. Take fast and make it faster. Performance drives success!
Utecharger
Apprentice
Apprentice
Posts: 18
Joined: Sat Dec 27, 2008 2:14 pm
Location: Herriman, Utah

Re: HELP! Race tomorrow!!!

Post by Utecharger »

Well I decided to just let it go, even though it should be common knowledge that you dont race the same car year after year, and the kids car placed third, just like last year. In fact the 4 kids who were in the finals last year were the same kids this year but with different results. My boys took 1st and 2nd instead of 2nd and 4th and the 1st place kid from last year place 4th.

It was fun but I hate being the leader and having the parents walk away thinking I somehow rig the race. they should be more mad at the father who didn't want to build another car and took home another 3rd place trophy. My oldest sons car ran a 3.12 on a 42 foot metal track and beat an EBAY car that the owner of the track bought to race his cars against, so it was no slouch.

Anyways thanks to all for the comments and suggestions and I am hoping I can talk my district into having a race.

Utecharger
GO UTES!!!
blcrow33
Master Pine Head
Master Pine Head
Posts: 112
Joined: Tue Nov 28, 2006 12:08 pm
Location: Sagamore Hills, Ohio

Re: HELP! Race tomorrow!!!

Post by blcrow33 »

Utecharger wrote:It was fun but I hate being the leader and having the parents walk away thinking I somehow rig the race. they should be more mad at the father who didn't want to build another car and took home another 3rd place trophy.
I know how it is getting those looks like you did something wrong. I have run our Pack PWD for the last three years and my son has come in 1st the last years. I have held clinics and given anyone any help they have asked for. We still get parents that just do not help their son. One mom this year dropped off her sons car before the race and said she has to get to work and "Johnny" will not be coming to the race. I did not have the heart to tell her the rules stated the scout has to be present to race so I check in her sons car. The car looked like the scout took his knife and carved out a car. Not even painted. When I weighed it the car only weighed 1.36 oz. I told the mom this car may not make it down the track if you do not add more weight to it. She said "oh well, I have to go" and left. We ended up adding a little weight to it just so it would finish the race. I felt so bad for that scout. My son and I work on his for for weeks before the race. He is so excited to work on it, he wants to do it every night.

Here is a Pic of that scouts car. It actually came in thrid a few races. I wish the scout was there to see it.

Image
User avatar
PWD_addict
Master Pine Head
Master Pine Head
Posts: 705
Joined: Mon Jan 22, 2007 10:35 am
Location: Middle River, Maryland

Re: HELP! Race tomorrow!!!

Post by PWD_addict »

I know the feeling too (3 years in a row) but, up to now, it's been all in fun. When we were talking about ordering trophies, one leader asked if we should just have my son's name engraved on the 1st place trophy. I share what I know with everyone who asks and run a workshop to help people out. Only one DNF on our track that has 44.5 feet from start to finish. One front wheel was rubbing on the body so we remedied that easily enough.

Everyone knows how much I love PWD. I call the races and get as excited as the boys (maybe more) whenever there's a close call. This year, for the first time, I had several parents ask me what made my son's car so fast. I'd bend their ear as long as they wanted to hear it.

We are fortunate that the parents in our Pack don't get nasty--they like the competition and try harder from year to year.

Anyway Ute--enough of me. Congratulations on 1st and 2nd!!!! I'm glad everything worked out. If you'd like a copy of our rules to start on next year's, send me a private message with your email address.
--Dave
sdupont1
Master Pine Head
Master Pine Head
Posts: 282
Joined: Thu Jan 24, 2008 5:17 pm
Location: Port Allen, Louisiana

Re: HELP! Race tomorrow!!!

Post by sdupont1 »

I have had tha problem for the last two years now. My son likes a particular style of car that he saw and we made it the same way the last two years. I heard comments from everyone last year at weigh in. So for the race, we brought both cars, the 2007 and the 2008. Kinda gets old after a while of hearing, "is that last years car".
Teeeman
Pine Head Legend
Pine Head Legend
Posts: 1577
Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2005 1:40 pm
Location: Huntsville, AL

Re: HELP! Race tomorrow!!!

Post by Teeeman »

Last year at the "night before race" test and tune, I had 2 "daddy" cars that nobody was beating.

My son's car was getting beat.


So he worked until 2 a.m. and got back up at 6:30 to build a duplicate of my cars (extremely simple slice bodies, no paint)... he used his good wheels and axles.

We brought all 3 to the race the next day so folks could see that I truly did NOT hand him a car.


UTE- great news on the wins!

Yes, the rumors fly and you now wear the bullseye.

What more can you do other than share all your secrets and have workshops, etc etc etc

We never held anything close to our chest and we spent far more time helping folks last year than we did building our cars (well, that may not be quite true but close)...

when my son finished his first ever non-1st place in Pack... got 2nd by .001s!... the Cubmaster announced 1st place winner with enthusiasm... but then announced my boy in 2nd with 2-3X the energy (if I had a decibel meter I could have proven that!)...

Same guy when he announced my son in 1st the 3rd year he won Pack... called his name in a dull fashion and moved on quickly...

it was kinda upsetting but to get upset over something that subtle would make us in the wrong.

I can honestly say though after we busted our hump the 3rd and 4th year to help everybody else...

those years we got not one single accusation of cheating.

But that first year... when we "newcomers" won with authority... ouch! We got all kinds of both subtle and not so subtle feedback.
I got so irritated about the boy at my son's school who informed my son "my dad says you guys cheated"... I wrote a 3 page explanation of every single thing we did to the car with description on how to perform the work and the physics of why it works... and sent via my son to give the other boy to give his dad.

Didn't help 'em any the next year. Probably didn't understand most of it anyway...

but did squelch the "you cheated" comments that we tried to help rather than playing cloak and dagger.


Ah well, sorry to babble.

-T
"I dunno..." - Uncle Eddie, Christmas Vacation
User avatar
ohiofitter
Master Pine Head
Master Pine Head
Posts: 693
Joined: Sat Feb 03, 2007 10:30 am
Location: Uniontown,Ohio

Re: HELP! Race tomorrow!!!

Post by ohiofitter »

That is sad the parents won't help....My boys enjoy hanging out in the workshop with me and we spend a little time everyday together after we get the kit and that's the hole point.........But is there a way to have the scout meeting some were for maybe a Thurs-Sat .......I know it seem like a lot of time but for helping a scout I think it's worth it
mbb
Master Pine Head
Master Pine Head
Posts: 221
Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2006 6:50 pm

Re: HELP! Race tomorrow!!!

Post by mbb »

Isnt that on the basic rules in the box or something?

Fortunately my son managed to come in 2nd in pack last yr due to a fluke result, and only 2nd in rank the yr before when track debris caused his car to drag on one race.

So even though he does well at council and district level (different cars!) and everyone knows it, he only won pack 1 out of last 3 yrs! When I hear comments I remind them of this.

This could be his last yr, the Webelos II cross over before the derby and usually dont come back to participate. He wants #1 in pack again this yr so we are building a car to take it. Usually we build a pack car to look great and just be competitive enough to qualify for district. This yr it will be a car to blow everyone away, and we will have a district car there to tune while the track is up so everyone can see how much faster the districts are (less restrictive rules!) Maybe it will generate more interest.
Post Reply