On race day the person that can make or break a Grand Prix / Pinewood Derby is the announcer.
The announcer has a tough job. He/she has to keep the excitement up, keep the event interesting, and stay on top of what is happening.
Usually, the best announcers are the folks that are always talking. It is a personality trait that can be put to good use here. Add to their natural gregariousness some race sounds, some special events and you have a memorable day.
When we have a wreck on the track (a derailment or auto disintegration) we send down a hospital car accompanied by sirens. Two kids from the pit area run out with a stretcher to retrieve the car. The car is loaded on the stretcher and carried back to the pit area for repairs if necessary.
I have also made a big deal of honoring our Commander. After getting the audience to agree that the Commander was doing a great job and deserving of defferential treatment, I afford the Commander's car a special position on the track for his race: a head start of 1/2 the distance down the track (think about it!) How can the Commander protest a significant head start!?!? It is good for a fun break between many races.
To get the kids more involved with the race, we position 4 chairs at the end of the track. Each chair is covered with one of the track colors - red, blue, green, yellow (or you could use track numbers). The racer gets to sit in the color of the track their car is running on and get a birds-eye view of the finish. At the finish, the finish-line judges wave the appropriately colored flag for 1st, 2nd, 3rd. It keeps it interesting for the kids and everyone can readily see who won.
Race Day - keep it moving and exciting
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Darin McGrew
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Re: Race Day - keep it moving and exciting
I'm not so sure about this. It seems like it would distract too much from the derby. On the rare occasions where we have a problem (typically a wheel or a decoration falling off), the car owner and an adult meet with a bottle of cyanoacrylate glue and fix the car before its next race.Wes wrote:When we have a wreck on the track (a derailment or auto disintegration) we send down a hospital car accompanied by sirens. Two kids from the pit area run out with a stretcher to retrieve the car. The car is loaded on the stretcher and carried back to the pit area for repairs if necessary.
Some kids might not like the attention, but I'd guess that most would get a kick out of this. Some would even create a "wreck" on purpose.
Maybe I should have done that with my "Calvin and Hobbes" car. After its first race (when it was clear that this was the slowest car on the track, by far), I could have asked for a "head start" in the car's future races. That would have saved me the trouble of catching it before it crashed into the finish gate. (The car was too tall--oops!)Wes wrote:I have also made a big deal of honoring our Commander. After getting the audience to agree that the Commander was doing a great job and deserving of defferential treatment, I afford the Commander's car a special position on the track for his race: a head start of 1/2 the distance down the track (think about it!) How can the Commander protest a significant head start!?!? It is good for a fun break between many races.
We do this too.Wes wrote:To get the kids more involved with the race, we position 4 chairs at the end of the track. Each chair is covered with one of the track colors - red, blue, green, yellow (or you could use track numbers). The racer gets to sit in the color of the track their car is running on and get a birds-eye view of the finish. At the finish, the finish-line judges wave the appropriately colored flag for 1st, 2nd, 3rd. It keeps it interesting for the kids and everyone can readily see who won.
Another technique we use is to have different people in the audience (mostly kids, but sometimes adults) say "Ready, set, go!" to start the race. We started this several years ago, and the kids really look forward to it now.
Re: Race Day - keep it moving and exciting
"I'm not so sure about this. It seems like it would distract too much from the derby. On the rare occasions where we have a problem (typically a wheel or a decoration falling off), the car owner and an adult meet with a bottle of cyanoacrylate glue and fix the car before its next race.
Some kids might not like the attention, but I'd guess that most would get a kick out of this. Some would even create a "wreck" on purpose."
Actually, Darin, it works well when you remember what the day is all about - having fun. Granted, it is supposed to be controlled fun. You don't want things getting out of hand and turning into bedlam.
However, you also don't want your Grand Prix / Pinewood Derby day to turn into deadly serious competition. There are enough forces working in that direction already. Some of the parents can become pretty caught up in the competitiveness of the whole thing (little-league syndrome). As someone said in an earlier forum, it has to be kept in mind that this is just a bunch of little wooden cars running down a track.
No one can create a wreck on purpose. The pit crew handles the cars after they are checked in and one person positions the cars on the track. In our races once the cars are inspected and checked in, no one can touch the cars. They are kept in the pit area throughout the entire race period. After the heats are over, each racer can retrieve their car from the pit area. This prevents tampering with cars after inspection as well as the cars being damaged while waiting for their heats.
A light break in the middle of one heat after another is OK. Keep it fun.
Some kids might not like the attention, but I'd guess that most would get a kick out of this. Some would even create a "wreck" on purpose."
Actually, Darin, it works well when you remember what the day is all about - having fun. Granted, it is supposed to be controlled fun. You don't want things getting out of hand and turning into bedlam.
However, you also don't want your Grand Prix / Pinewood Derby day to turn into deadly serious competition. There are enough forces working in that direction already. Some of the parents can become pretty caught up in the competitiveness of the whole thing (little-league syndrome). As someone said in an earlier forum, it has to be kept in mind that this is just a bunch of little wooden cars running down a track.
No one can create a wreck on purpose. The pit crew handles the cars after they are checked in and one person positions the cars on the track. In our races once the cars are inspected and checked in, no one can touch the cars. They are kept in the pit area throughout the entire race period. After the heats are over, each racer can retrieve their car from the pit area. This prevents tampering with cars after inspection as well as the cars being damaged while waiting for their heats.
A light break in the middle of one heat after another is OK. Keep it fun.
Re: Race Day - keep it moving and exciting
Actually, you can create a wreck. We accidently 'discovered' this technique during the filming of our video, and liked it so much we included a few wrecks in the video. Here is how it is done:No one can create a wreck on purpose.
1. Drilled axle holes (at least in the front). One of the front holes need to be large enough that the axle easily slides in and out with no effort, but is not so loose as to be sloppy.
2. Stage the car with the front axle pulled out a little bit - let's assume the front-right axle.
3. Angle the car so that the front-left wheel and the right-rear wheel touch the center guide rail.
As the car goes down the slope, the car will adjust and move to the left. As it does so, the right front wheel will hit the center guide rail and should come off the car. Usually, the wheel keeps going and the car grinds to a halt. Great fun!
