Pinewood Derby Set for Saturday on USS Yorktown

The Boy Scouts of America Coastal Carolina Council is partnering with Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum and Baker Motor Company to host the 2013 Etiwan Cup Pinewood Derby aboard the USS Yorktown on Saturday, April 13.

The Yorktown’s Smokey Stover Theater will be transformed into racing central – with a six-lane, 44-foot racing track set up on stage.  Qualification checks and car inspections will begin at 12:00 p.m. in Hangar Bay I and races start at 1 p.m.  The top four race finalists and the top two design finalists from each pack will automatically advance to the District Etiwan Cup races.  The derby will also feature an “Akela race” for parents and family members of Cub Scouts, as well as design prizes.

Registration is available for $5 at www.coastalcarolinabsa.org and includes event patch, competition participation and admission for the Cub Scout and admission to Patriots Point for up to four family members! A $5 parking fee will still apply.

“For generations, Pinewood Derby Races have been synonymous with the tradition of Scouting,” said Patriots Point Executive Director Mac Burdette. “As one of the nation’s top overnight camping destinations for Scouts, the USS Yorktown will provide the perfect setting for our overnight campers as well as scouts from the tri-county region to participate in these races.”

The tradition of the Pinewood Derby dates back to 1953. Since that time, Cub Scouts have built nearly 100 million Pinewood Derby race cars – enough to stretch from Charlotte, North Carolina to the North Pole (according to pinewoodderby.org).

“I wanted to devise a wholesome, constructive activity that would foster a closer father-son relationship and promote craftsmanship and good sportsmanship through competition,” Pinewood Derby founder Donald Murphy shared in an interview with Scouting Magazine in 1999. “As Cub Scouts learn the skill of good sportsmanship, they are better able to recognize and appreciate the new skills they’ve acquired, to show respect to all those involved, and to experience the fun and excitement of competition.

About the Pinewood Derby (Source: pinewoodderby.org)

The first Pinewood Derby was held in 1953 by Cub Scout Pack 280C of Manhattan Beach, California, operated by the North American Aviation Management Club. It was the brainchild of Cubmaster Donald Murphy. The derby, publicized in Boys’ Life in October 1954, was an instant and enduring hit. The magazine offered plans for the track and car, which featured “four wheels, four nails, and three blocks of wood.”

The rules of the very first race stated: “The Derby is run in heats—two to four cars starting by gravity from a standstill on a track and run down a ramp to a finish line unaided. The track is an inclined ramp with wood strips down the center to guide the cars.” The cars still roll that way today.