Woodworking culminated in a contest of speed as more than 30 Rochester and Marion Cub Scouts competed in a local pinewood derby Saturday, February 8.
In the event held at Rochester Memorial School, small cars built by the participants from Rochester Pack 30 and Marion Pack 32 were raced against each other repeatedly to determine the fastest wooden four-wheelers. The winners from each town will next compete in a regional round.
The Cub Scouts “love it,” Rochester resident Andrew Smart said.
“They kind of go all out with these cars,” he said. “There’ll be some tight finishes, so the competition is tough.”
The derby cars are cut out from a rectangular block of pinewood, according to Rochester Pack 30 leader Nate Reece.
Cub Scouts are also provided the axles and wheels for the cars, which cannot weigh more than 5 ounces.
Some streamline their cars for speed, while some aim to make their pinewood racers funny, Reece said. The cars are decorated and given names, like “Cat Mobile” built by Liana Janicki and “Summer Popsicle” built by Jessica Sample.
Benjamin Smart, 9, spent a couple weeks making “The Heart Car,” so named for its Valentine’s Day theme, because his birthday is the day before the holiday, according to Andrew Smart.
The cars take their marks on a four-lane track elevated on a stage inside Rochester Memorial’s cafeteria. The track dips down into the middle of the room, with gravity accelerating the cars towards the finish line in blink-and-you’ll-miss-it races that last little more than two seconds.
“The kids get all excited about it,” Andrew Smart said.
Some 100 heats were held during the derby. After about 60 races, the field was whittled down to a group of finalists for a final round of 40 races in order to determine the winners.
The five fastest cars from Rochester and Marion at the February 8 local event moved onto a regional round, which will also be held at Rochester Memorial School in March and will include Cub Scouts from other surrounding communities. Sixth place acts as an alternate.
Advancing to the regional race from Rochester is Bryan Lee, Georgia Duggan, Benjamin Smart, Ben Reece and Chase Dion. Dylan Sims is the alternate.
Advancing to the regional round from Marion is Henry Kanaly, Finn Lavin, James Whipple, Jack LeFavor and Muriel Whipple. Rowan Berube-King is the alternate.
By Erez Ben-Akiva