Pinewood Derby teaches vital skills to our youth
The Pinewood Derby is a piece of Americana that hearkens back to a treasured time when fathers taught sons about working with their hands and with tools to create something of value.
That piece of Americana nowadays involves moms and sons and daughters, brothers and sisters or uncles and nephews and nieces or grandparents and grandchildren — anyone who is willing to invest a little time in the life of a young person — but the concept remains the same: Teach a young boy or girl about using the skills of their own handiwork to enter a competition that is all about fun and sportsmanship.
The concept dates back to the work of an enterprising Boy Scouts of America Cubmaster in Manhattan Beach, Calif., in 1953. Donald Murphy was looking for what he said was a “wholesome, constructive activity that would foster a closer father-son relationship and promote craftsmanship and good sportsmanship through competition.”
From that concept, Murphy’s idea has continued on through the generations, from those original 55 Cub Scouts to more than a million Scouts who have participated.
Members of the Ohio Valley River Council of Scouting America will showcase their construction and gravity racing skills beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Fort Steuben Mall in the region’s annual Pinewood Derby. More than 100 participants from Eastern Ohio and the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia are expected to participate. The race weekend begins at 6 p.m. today with a series of races involving former Scouts, the family members of Scouts and adult volunteers.
Cars entered in the annual competition have to meet a series of technical specifications that rival what the racers in NASCAR, IndyCar or Formula One have to meet. Cars of entrants have to meet specifications for length, width, height clearance and weight. The ones that don’t measure up have to be modified and sent back through inspection again.
The cars are wonders of the imagination and engineering on a small scale. There will be cars of as many different shapes as the minds of the participants can fathom. There will be cars painted up in NFL colors, cars decorated in tribute to action heroes and cars that are simply aerodynamic wonders.
Behind all the pageantry of colors and designs, there is a basic concept about quality time spent with a child to teach skills, craftsmanship and sportsmanship.
Those skills last right along with the memories of Pinewood competition and serve throughout a lifetime.