Pack & District race scheduling

[JSG]

I'm a little frustrated with our district race. Specifically that it's being held May 5. Does that seem late to the rest of you? Our Web. 2's will already be in Boy Scouts by the time our pack race (March 24) happens let alone the district race. Participation would be a lot better if they held districts in February. It would force packs to hold their race in early Feb. or January which in my mind is better for Web. 2's. Am I off base with this thinking?

[gpraceman]

Having been involved in 4 district races, running two of them, you've got to work around other scheduled events in the district/council and be able to secure a location to hold the race. Those considerations may have necessitated the later date. An early date would certainly be preferable, but not so early that each of the packs hadn't had time to run their races.

[drathbun]

Our district race last year was during Spring Break because that's when we could get a facility. This year it's being held at the end of March, and it's the second year for the revived race (it was dormant for over ten years prior to last year) so we hope for increased participation.

[MOFAST]

I totally agree with you. May seems very late. There is a lot less going on in January and February.

We have our pack race the last Saturday in January and Districts is February 17th and 18th this year. The Tigers race Friday night and everybody else races Saturday. The top 4 Tigers will race again Saturday night against the top 4 in the other ranks.

I have a Tiger and a Wolf who made it to districts so we are automatically racing two days. The only thing I don't like about it is the Tigers race until almost 10 pm. They are tired cubs by the end.

[Stan Pope]

I'm a little frustrated with our district race. Specifically that it's being held May 5. Does that seem late to the rest of you? Our Web. 2's will already be in Boy Scouts by the time our pack race (March 24) happens let alone the district race. Participation would be a lot better if they held districts in February. It would force packs to hold their race in early Feb. or January which in my mind is better for Web. 2's. Am I off base with this thinking?

Check to see if those who qualified to district races (especially Web 2) can participate even though they graduated to Boy Scouts. That procedure is followed in my district, and may well be true in your area as well, since our district rules and procedures have been widely duplicated.

[JSG]

Our district allows Web 2's to race it's just that by May a lot of them are in "Boy Scout" mode. I don't think venues would be a problem. I think it's the district procrastinating. I'll bring it up and see what they say.

[JSG]

Update

Our district race is a week from Saturday (May 5). That's all we know at this point. No location, time, early registration.... I think our district is really dropping the ball on this. I guess it's not a revenue generator so it's better to push a spring popcorn sale or camp or friends of scouting.

[Shawn Stebleton]

Yes, May seems late from my perspective. Our district races have been in January the last 5 years, and in February the year before that.

Our district doesn't have a city with a shopping mall in it, so we team up with a neighboring district and hold an all-day two-district race event at the main court of a shopping mall within their district boundaries but only about a 25 minute drive away from us (our pack is nearly the furthest within our district from the mall, so most others are closer). Lots of open space for cubs and parents, and the upper floor is open so more parents/friends can watch from the aisles and look down. Their races (first cubs, then combined wolves through Webelos II's) are in the morning. Then a combined district adult race is run. After that, our district's races are run (same two groupings).

I guess it's not a revenue generator so it's better to push a spring popcorn sale or camp or friends of scouting.

With the cubs visible at the mall all day long it is a form of recruiting. The cubs racing should focus on the racing and the fun that goes with it, while the periphery should be promoting cub scouting and everything else that goes on.

I've thought that having a large wall map (plotter sized?) of the district available at the race event, with the locations of the pack meeting places marked, would be a great plus. Have business card holders--one for each pack--placed to the sides, with lines linking a holder to its corresponding meeting place mark. In that way, a parent of a prospective cub could see just how close a pack is to where he/she lives and can get contact info right there. General eligibility requirements (ages/grades) can also be posted. If someone sees this and wants to make one, I suggest using push-pins for the pack meeting locations, with yarn to link one to a business card holder. Use different colors for adjacent ones so people can follow a lot easier.

I know that lots of people from our district boundaries shop at the mall in the next district's area, so there would be a good amount of traffic pertinent to us, so even having our district event out-of-district isn't a bad thing.

[JSG]

It sounds like you guys have a pretty well run race Shawn. I just found out tonight that our District Executive doesn't even have a venue secured and our race is supposedly a week from this Saturday He actually wanted to know if I had any ideas where it could be held. It's a week away and now you're looking for a venue? These guys hold paid positions. I'll bet if I called to schedule a Friends of Scouting rep to speak at a pack meeting he'd be there quicker than the Jimmy Johns delivery guy .

[Speedster]

JSG, if I may share something. When our District use to race at a mall I would set up one of my 2 lane tracks as a fun track. My track has a manual start and I did not put the timer on the track. The scouts started the cars themselves and I put a piece of red tape across the end so they had a finish line. I built 10 cars (none of which would ever win anything) for children to play with, or Mom's and Dad's or anyone. My area also was the area to make cars legal or repair them if they would become damaged. I was simply there to keep order, talk to folks, and help people whose cars were not legal. I caught one scout putting one of my cars across the end of the track so another one of my cars he sent down the track would crash into it. The little stinker. Mostly, the scouts were very well behaved. The Boy Scouts had their trailer set up and I would direct folks to them for information about scouting. It was tons of fun. If you're racing in a mall and have an opportunity to do this you will bring a lot of joy to a lot of folks.
Good Luck with your District races.

[Stan Pope]

It sounds like you guys have a pretty well run race Shawn. I just found out tonight that our District Executive doesn't even have a venue secured and our race is supposedly a week from this Saturday He actually wanted to know if I had any ideas where it could be held. It's a week away and now you're looking for a venue? These guys hold paid positions. I'll bet if I called to schedule a Friends of Scouting rep to speak at a pack meeting he'd be there quicker than the Jimmy Johns delivery guy .

If you have a specific commitment from the DE to secure a location, then your gripe is justified.

However, this is not the way most such events are organized. The Event Chairman is usually responsible for those arrangements, either personally or by delegation. And the Event Chairman is usually answerable to the District Program Chairman for accomplishing those arrangements. The DE should get involved only if the Event Chairman drops the ball and the Program Chairman doesn't pick it up! If the DE is as proactive as he should be, his need to be involved should not come as a surprise

[JSG]

Our district is kind of unorganized. Unresponsive to other issues. If the DE asks me if I know of a place to hold the event a week before the event then there's a problem. It doesn't matter too much to me who's dropping the ball. Just that it is ready to hit the ground. We'll see what happens.

[JSG]

Another update:

Our event was recently re-scheduled for May 12

Today our event was cancelled and our DE invited our district to a neihboring district's PWD which is tommorow.

I contacted their district race coordinator with some questions since our rules are different. He says "I was never informed of this". He contacts his DE and he was never informed either. So our DE invited our district to another districts race TOMORROW without even asking them if it would be OK.

So now I'm waiting to find out if we can go to their race or not. Debating if we even should. Don't want to ruin it for their district boys if by chance we would win one of their trophies. What would you do?

[Stan Pope]

WOW?!

Condolences ...

[FatSebastian]

What would you do?

Since their rules are different, it may be an open question as to whether you could participate. We'd be tempted to show up just to observe another derby -- and the potentially ensuing spectacle caused by your DE's announcement, depending on how far and wide the invitation was circulated. It's not clear how your DE canceled the event and then invited your district. Web page update? Email exploder?

Now that you know what some of the issues are, perhaps next year you can assist with the District level race planning to hopefully avoid this kind of outcome.