Pinewood Derby racers

Published: February 4, 2010

Forty Island cub scouts participated in the annual Pinewood Derby at the Chilmark Community Center last Saturday. A four-lane track sloped down the length of the main room between chairs that had been placed on either side for spectators. As their names were called, scouts carefully placed their individually crafted car at the head of the track then raced to the finish line to see which car finished first.

Cub scouts and onlookers lined the four-lane metal track at the Chilmark Community Center waiting for the pinewood racers to be released. Click on photo to enlarge. Photos by Susan Safford

In the fall, each scout is given a block of pine, plastic wheels, and nails. The cars must comply to specific length and weight requirements, with wheels spaced to fit into the track. But there's still plenty of room for creative customizing in shape and decoration, and the entries came out looking as varied as the entrants.

Andrew Bradshaw, Pack 90 leader, who was positioned at the head of the track to release the cars for each heat, was especially pleased with the turnout. "We had no cub scouts on the Island two years ago," he said. His efforts, along with those of Pack 93 leader Kevin Oliver, paid off in finding other den leaders and recruiting scouts.

This Saturday, Feb. 6, a regional Pinewood Derby will be held at the Dennis/Yarmouth High School as part of the Cape and Island's Council celebration of 100 years of Scouting in America. Island scouts are planning to spend Friday and Saturday nights at the Camp Greenough Scout Reservation in Yarmouth Port. It's not really roughing it, according to Mr. Oliver, because the scouts will stay in heated cabins.