tips of running and setting up a PWD race

Discussions on race planning, preparations and how to run a "fair" and fun race.
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sporty
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tips of running and setting up a PWD race

Post by sporty »

The last race I went to at my sons pack was a nightmare.

From a parents point of view, I would like to point out some tips for those running a event.

1. Have everything set up before people arrive. Not just the track, But have the check in station and a copy of the rules their. Have the scale set up and working and the inspection equipment.

Nothing worse than seing 45 minutes after the scheduled check in time. That things are not set up or are missing.

2. Allow enough time between inspections and starting the race. I saw the race time passing buy, as they started almost 1 hour late. Due to the problems in my 1st line. Then the inspection time was only 1 hour, kind of hard to get over 30 people through inspection in 1 hour ! Even worse, if the inspection people were also the peopleho were the finish line judges !!

Announce in the pack meeting and before the event, the running order ! Alot of single parent these days involved. Nothing like alot of children crying or fussy trying to set around for 2 to 4 hours.


3. Make sure the track is working well, the finish line system and the double elimination software or chart being used.

My son raced the same car 4 times, because a mistake had been make. My son beat him two times on different races. The car should have been eliminated already.

This was dealt with after the race, but the upsetting part, is that the winner is announced after each race.

I recommend not annoucing winners until the end of that group of racers has finished racing.


4- If the event can not be held and finished within 4 hours, please allow parent and children to come at the time their group of races will be held !


Watching a Webello bored out of his mind for four hours until he races. The parent who is tired and the baby that is fussy from being there that long. Makes for a unahappy event.

5- If the race is going to that long, Please make the trophy handout short ! Another 45 minutes to 1 hour, really makes for a unhappy crowd.


6- I feel having them check in around 10 am and inspection, then leave for lunch and then come back for the race works much better. Hoping also that the race does not start until 1pm.

You will find you and your child hungry, because trying to get lunch at 11 am. Come 3 pm, people are thirsty and hungry.

And we were in a church, No food or drink were allowed in the race area.

7- make sure their our enough seats for people. Standing or leaning against a wall for several hours is not very fun either.

8- If a issue or problem comes out during the race. Please walk up and discuss it with the parent.

Do not ! Do not, say, you will deal with it or discuss it after the race ! Nothing worse than seing a @&**!# off parent, work there way through the crowd upset and talking loudy about it for several hours either !

In 4 years, I have not yet seen a PWD event, without a upset person. I am not saying all others are like this either.


Sporty
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gpraceman
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Re: tips of running and setting up a PWD race

Post by gpraceman »

sporty wrote:The last race I went to at my sons pack was a nightmare.
I am sorry to hear that. It does sound like the event was not very organized.
sporty wrote:1. Have everything set up before people arrive. Not just the track, But have the check in station and a copy of the rules their. Have the scale set up and working and the inspection equipment.
For our pack race, we actually setup the night before the race and do check-in then. This helps ensure that we will start the race on time, since cars are already checked in and everything has already been setup and tested.
sporty wrote:3. Make sure the track is working well, the finish line system and the double elimination software or chart being used.
I'd recommend to dump the double elimination, for many reasons already discussed on this forum. You can still do some elimination, if you wish, by having a 2nd round of racing and only advance the top cars to that round.
sporty wrote:4- If the event can not be held and finished within 4 hours, please allow parent and children to come at the time their group of races will be held !
Four hours, Ouch! Running a non-elimination chart allows you to have the entire schedule printed out for your race crew and you can even post it on the wall for racers to see. This can speed up the race significantly, since your race crew can prestage cars, so cars are ready to load once the current heat is completed.

At last year's pack race we ran 95 heats in about 1.5 hours on our 4 lane track and we could have cranked them out faster if we wanted to.
sporty wrote:In 4 years, I have not yet seen a PWD event, without a upset person. I am not saying all others are like this either.
I think with some basic organization and using a non-elimination race method will help enormously. I've had many previous double elim users try running a non elimination race and tell me that they get very positive comments from the parents since the event can run smoother and faster and ends up being fairer.
Randy Lisano
Romans 5:8

Awana Grand Prix and Pinewood Derby racing - Where a child, an adult and a small block of wood combine for a lot of fun and memories.
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heartofgold
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Re: tips of running and setting up a PWD race

Post by heartofgold »

Hello Everyone!
I am new to the group, but I would like to offer some observations from my own experiences. For reference, our pack uses a 4 lane 42’ aluminum track with timer and Grand Prix software. We set up our track the day before the race. We conduct an adult/sibling race that night, in which we test the out our procedures from check in and inspection to racing and awards (awards scaled down for this group). We also conduct a pre-inspection and weigh in for the boys. The adult/sibling race is a draw for the boys, and it gives the boys and parents a chance to weigh and have their cars inspected before the race. If there are any problems, cars can be fixed that evening or the following morning.

When boys come the next day for their races starting at noon, most problems are already fixed and inspection and registration is much quicker and less eventful. We assign the Pinewood Derby to the Bear parents. This means that roughly 1/5 of the parents are involved in the preparation and execution of this event. Most Bear parents have participated in 2 or more PWD and are experienced enough to involve themselves in the process.

With the overhead from the Grand Prix software, we can conduct the race smoothly, and with 70 competitors last year, there were no complaints from parents. It was a perfectly uneventful event—except for the great time which was had by the boys!

Doug
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Old Guy Chuck
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Re: tips of running and setting up a PWD race

Post by Old Guy Chuck »

Since our group runs 20-25 derbies a year, the desire to eliminate problems and make setup and tear down easy has forced us to organize. We have the luxury of a dedicated trailer with all of our equipment on wheels (including the crates for the track & other equipment). Here are a couple of things we have learned in running over 100 derbies:

- Using a 4 lane track, with GrandPrix Software and the Judge finish gate, we use cumulative time (ignoring worst time) to score. That means if we have 50 cars, there are 50 races with each boy racing 4 times down the track. We know if we want to run a moderate pace is 45 seconds - 1 minute per race. Add in the Grand Finals and most of our races are done in an hour. The check in and a bit of pomp and circumstance still means all the Scouts & parents are still in and out in a couple of hours at the most.

- Since we do this sometime 3 times in a weekend, our setup & testing of the track takes us 1.5 hours. At that point we are entertaining the crowd and waiting for the pack to get us final inspection sheets. We assign all car numbers ahead of time and have the Car Number Stickers ready to hand over to the pack when we arrive. While they check in cars we set up the track.

- This process frees up the pack to check in cars, pass them, place the sticker on the car, and check them off on the registration sheets we provide. It works very smoothly.

- A few years back to keep the crowd interested before the race we started to play background music. That has grown into a full 1/2 hour mock radio show (Radio RACE) which runs right up to race time.

- During our Radio RACE broadcast, we also have a "Coolest Cars" slide show running. Over the past 6 years I have downloaded cool car pictures from all over the web (yes even Ebay :( ). This also include some of the coolest cars from our derbies in past years. This year's show contains over 650 cars and is a real hit with the boys. For those creative types, it gives them inspiration for next year.

- As the cars are checked in we photograph them, and usually by the end of the tigers race have the Pack's cars ready to go in a slide show as well. That we show during breaks in the action or in the event of some down time. I also have several pages of "drop-ins" or derby trivia to read in the event we have to stall for some reason (mechanical repair, waiting on an emergency car repair, etc).

- Since we have all racers entered into the software ahead of time, last minute no shows are quickly handled and the time we need between races is only a couple of minutes. We even bought an inexpensive laser printer to speed up printing of race schedules (we got it for under $100) but it is maybe 3 times faster than our other inkjet printer was.

- We have spent a number of hours documenting all of our procedures so we can become more efficient and consistent. If we did this only once a year, I think they would become even more important.

- Since we have an income, we have the luxury of being able to back up nearly all of our equipment (computer, finish gate, amplifier, etc.). Even at that we have manual procedures in place for just about every situation and documentation as to how we would run the race if this or that happens.

- Something else we just started this year was to assign a "Racemaster". His or her job is to be the goto person if someone (i.e. parent) has a complaint or question. That person has the authority to stop the races consult and rerun if need be. We give him or her a NASCAR hat to wear for the "cool" factor. This process has worked well and lets people know who to contact if they have a concern. Realistically this only happens once or twice every 25 races we run.

- I guess the bottom line is organization and preparation have helped us tremendously.

Our website has pictures of our races, downloads of our "drop-ins", a sample of the Race Package Document we give to the pack to help them organize their part, and even sample of our Radio RACE broadcasts.

Chuck Sylvester
http://www.abunchofoldguysandatrack.com/
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