Friday night test and tune...

Discussions on race planning, preparations and how to run a "fair" and fun race.
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Lucky13
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Friday night test and tune...

Post by Lucky13 »

I took over as Chair for our pack Pinewood Derby this year. I am trying to convince the other leaders to have a Friday night test and tune before the Saturday race. The reason I brought this up is due to last years Derby. I worked the "Pit" area during check in last year and it was crazy for the whole 2 hours of check-in. We fixed at least 25 cars, over weight, under weight, wrong wheels, etc.. I would like to have the Friday night test and tune to allow the boys to come in, run their car on the track no more than 2 times to see and fix any obvious problems and get them checked in. I figure even if only half the boys show up Friday night things will go smoother on Saturday morning ( sort of spread the chaos out!!). My question is, Have any of you done this with your pack? and did it help? Any other suggestions would be appreciated. Thank You!!
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Re: Friday night test and tune...

Post by ExtremePWD »

We run our 1 week before. Many problems can be resolved that night. Some bigger problems call for significant work. The week gives them plenty of time to correct whatever is needed. Registration is done on race day. We still had about 6-8 cars out of 90 that needed some relatively minor work.
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Re: Friday night test and tune...

Post by DerbyAddict »

We also do ours a week before. We hold it on a Saturday and have some basic tools there. Like ExtremePWD, we feel it helps in case some major work is needed.
We also setup the track for the boys to test their car, more to test to make sure they can make it all the way down than to test for speed but some do some tweaking for that.
All the boys who showed up at the test day last year finished in the top 20. A couple of boys that didn't show barely made it to the finish line.
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Cory
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Re: Friday night test and tune...

Post by Cory »

DerbyAddict wrote:We also do ours a week before.
Same story here. We would usually have a "pure" workshop two Saturdays prior, no track but lots of tools, the scale, etc. One Saturday before we would have a "mixed" workshop and trials day, where the track was also present. We, too, would occasionally see cars at trials day that really needed more than an overnight rush job.
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Re: Friday night test and tune...

Post by Go Bubba Go »

Lucky13 wrote:I took over as Chair for our pack Pinewood Derby this year.
Good for you!!! :clap:
Lucky13 wrote:I am trying to convince the other leaders to have a Friday night test and tune before the Saturday race. The reason I brought this up is due to last years Derby. I worked the "Pit" area during check in last year and it was crazy for the whole 2 hours of check-in. We fixed at least 25 cars, over weight, under weight, wrong wheels, etc.. I would like to have the Friday night test and tune to allow the boys to come in, run their car on the track no more than 2 times to see and fix any obvious problems and get them checked in. I figure even if only half the boys show up Friday night things will go smoother on Saturday morning ( sort of spread the chaos out!!). My question is, Have any of you done this with your pack? and did it help? Any other suggestions would be appreciated. Thank You!!
You need to be a stubborn (but polite) salesperson on this. Even suggest a "trial" year (this year) to see how it would work. I think the benefits will prove themselves quickly.

We have ours the night before and it works GREAT. It provides the following benefits:

Check-in: Allows for unofficial pre-check in and the accomplishment of necessary tweaks for weight, height, wheels (we have a "all 4 wheels, entire tread surface must touch" rule that often requires substantial tweaking with the rookies), etc. Since the "unofficial" trials can be run with less staff, the remaining staff (like me) are free to help those that really need it. The staff are also not put into the position of having to miss out on so much of the "real" races on Saturday because they are off in the pit area helping someone fix their car. I have been involved for 3 years, and we solve lots of problems Friday night and rarely have any tweaks to perform during the official check-in on Saturday morning.

Trial runs: Gives us an opportunity to spot any "problem cases" ahead of the big event. As with the above, since more of the staff are "freed up" we can dedicate more time to identifying and/or helping the boys that didn't get any (at least any knowledgable) help before showing up on Friday night. Also gives the "experts" some time to tweak their cars, although I personally don't usually get to this much as I am occupied with the "problem cases".

Track setup: It is less of a "mad scramble" to set up the track and get any bugs worked out. If we have any issues to resolve, the boys are trickling in and fairly patient on Friday night. On Saturday, the pressure is full blast with all the boys, relatives, etc. waiting (not so patiently) for the "big races" to start.

Saturday schedule: We can start earlier and end earlier on Saturday without all the staff having to get up 2 hours earlier and scramble to set up the track, pit areas, etc...

Open Class: Friday night is a great time to have your Open Class races. This is becoming a "big event" with us and is thoroughly enjoyed by the parents, staff, siblings and grandparents, etc. See some of my "Grandparent Car" posts in the Car Photos forum.

On Friday night, we set up our track starting at 1730 hrs, the boys "test and tune" from 1800 to 2000 hrs, and the Open Class races begin at 2030 hrs.

On Saturday morning, the Tiger check-in starts at 0800 hrs, then the Tigers race while the Wolves check in, then the Wolves race while the Bears check in... and so on.

The most common objection I hear is that some of the parents (and sometimes a staff member) have other kids with Basketball games, etc... on Friday night. This is why we keep it voluntary, we are trying (but not mandating) to spread the pre-race logistics and pressure out a bit to make it more enjoyable for everyone and less frenetic for the staff. There are some boys that only show up on Saturday and we are fine with that. Even if a boy shows up with problems on Saturday, he is not "scolded" for missing Friday night. We recommend he pursue that course of action next year, but it is not required. Stress that it is voluntary in your salesjob, it is hard to argue with a benefit that you want to offer to the parents, it is much easier to "kill" a proposed mandate.

For our setup, I would not recommend a week prior "test and tune". The reason is that we utilize a school cafeteria and are allowed to leave the track set up overnight Friday-Saturday, but would not be allowed to leave it set up for a week. For us, a week prior would end up costing us 2 setups, 2 tear downs, etc. That would be a difficult sell, I think.

p.s. Did I mention the Open Class races on Friday night???
"Who's Grandpa's neighbor?"... Phil Davis, Down and Derby
Lucky13
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Re: Friday night test and tune...

Post by Lucky13 »

Thank You all for taking the time to help me out with this. We run into the same problem you do "Go Bubba Go", we use a Church hall and we only have it Friday night and Saturday so we have to work within those boundaries. I definitely plan on pushing this as hard as I can. I do have a couple other people that have already volunteered to help me Friday night. Last year looking from the outside in I was able to see the confusion and this year looking from the inside out I want to do what I can to help make things go more smooth.

Thanks again everyone!!

Lucky 13
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Re: Friday night test and tune...

Post by Go Bubba Go »

One afterthought that escaped me in my reply above:

Do be wise about what equipment you leave out overnight. The school building we use is locked up like a fortress at night (and is a couple doors down from the "local law"), but I still wouldn't leave laptops or other pricey stuff out in the open overnight. The track is left out, but I haven't heard of a rash of track robberies anywhere...

Wish I didn't have to throw that in, but I felt I needed to...
"Who's Grandpa's neighbor?"... Phil Davis, Down and Derby
Lucky13
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Re: Friday night test and tune...

Post by Lucky13 »

Just wanted to give everyone an update. Not only did I convince the other leaders to have the test & tune, we are also having 2 workshops in March for the boys !! I was very happy with the support I have received from the other leaders and parents who are willing to help. All the boys should have the right to have some derby fun and this should help those out that may not be able to get the help they need.

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Lucky 13
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Old Guy Chuck
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Re: Friday night test and tune...

Post by Old Guy Chuck »

One additional advantage of the separate check in that we have seen is the pack has all the cars to pre-judge for special awards and print up certificates. We run a race for one pack that gives out a special award for every car like "best use of the color blue", "most unique shape" etc. In other words they do what they have to to make sure every boy gets rewarded for his unique car.

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Re: Friday night test and tune...

Post by DerbyAddict »

Lucky13 wrote: Not only did I convince the other leaders to have the test & tune, we are also having 2 workshops in March for the boys !! All the boys should have the right to have some derby fun and this should help those out that may not be able to get the help they need.

Take Care,
Lucky 13
Outstanding!! :clap: Keep plugging for the boys, it's worth all the time. :thumbup:

Not only will the boys who need the extra help get it but when the adults see all the boys having more fun because there is more competition, they'll want to expand next year!

We had one single mom who looked right at the picture on the front and said "What am I supposed to do with this?" After our workshop the Scout had a pretty cool looking car and minimal work to complete it. Worth every minute it took to organize and run the day when he was smiling ear to ear as he left! And he learned how to use some tools to boot.
*****************************
Richard Sava
Cubmaster, Pack 241
Deltona, FL
*****************************
Any day racing PWD is a good day but winning makes a better good day!
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Go Bubba Go
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Re: Friday night test and tune...

Post by Go Bubba Go »

DerbyAddict wrote:
Lucky13 wrote: Not only did I convince the other leaders to have the test & tune, we are also having 2 workshops in March for the boys !! All the boys should have the right to have some derby fun and this should help those out that may not be able to get the help they need.

Take Care,
Lucky 13
Outstanding!! :clap: Keep plugging for the boys, it's worth all the time. :thumbup:

Not only will the boys who need the extra help get it but when the adults see all the boys having more fun because there is more competition, they'll want to expand next year!
Ditto :thumbup: from me. Between the 2 workshops and the Friday night Test and Tune you have a pretty good chance of catching all (or nearly all) those boys who really need the help but might not be sure where to find it.
DerbyAddict wrote:We had one single mom who looked right at the picture on the front and said "What am I supposed to do with this?"
Many ways a situation like that can turn out bad (skip the event altogether, slap together a poor car, generally miss an opportunity to really enjoy time spent learning and building with her youngster). If the Leaders don't reach out to folks like this, they can end up feeling alienated as a result of an event that should instead build a sense of community and shared enjoyment.
DerbyAddict wrote:After our workshop the Scout had a pretty cool looking car and minimal work to complete it. Worth every minute it took to organize and run the day when he was smiling ear to ear as he left! And he learned how to use some tools to boot.
:thumbup: again. Leave just enough that they get the full sense of ownership from "finishing" it, but give them a leg up on the car this year and the understanding for next year. :clap: Nice job.
"Who's Grandpa's neighbor?"... Phil Davis, Down and Derby
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