Latest news, weather, high school sports for Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

WAKEFIELD -- The Cub Scouts from Cub Packs 300 and 337 and their friends and families gathered to compete in the annual Pinewood Derby.  This year's event took place in the Wakefield-Marenisco School gymnasium.  A large number of racers and race fans showed up for what has become Cub Scouting's most popular event.

The cars may be small and the builders might be small, but the Pinewood Derby is no small event.  The Cub Scouts have been racing these gravity-fueled vehicles since Adam and Eve, so it seems. After one or two hours of browsing the Web, it becomes quite clear that this is a serious sport.  It is also big business.  There is a myriad of Web sites selling car kits, car plans, secret tips on winning, patches, badges, trophies and more, much, much more.  Once you get past the commercialization and overzealous dads, the Pinewood Derby is a great and fun filled event for the Cubs themselves.

Pinewood Derby cars are small wooden models that the Scouts make with help from their families and then race in competition.  The cars are powered by gravity and run down a regulation track.  The Pinewood Derby is an annual event and it can be run indoors or outdoors.  Every boy can design and build his own "grand prix" car to enter in the race. 

The purpose of the Pinewood Derby is to help the Cub Scout build a team relationship with their parent or helper, experience the sense of accomplishment and the excitement of competition, sense of good sportsmanship, and to have fun.

The model cars are made of wood to specified dimensions, created, carved, assembled, and decorated by Cub Scouts under the guidance of the parents or helpers.

The Pinewood Derby is one of the most popular events in Cub Scouting.  Every year more than a million boys and parents team up to carve, decorate, weigh, adjust, fret over, and finally race a Pinewood Derby car.

The first Pinewood Derby was held in 1953 by Cub Scout Pack 280C of Manhattan Beach, California, and as of 1991 (Ref. 1992 BSA Retail Catalog) more than 81 million Pinewood Derby model car kits have been sold. Wow!!

Pinewood Derby Competition

Weblos Division

1. Travis Johnson
2. Tim Rowe
3. Troy Harju

Cub Scout Division

1. Tad Rowe
2. Alex Church
3. Angelo Harville

Adult Style

1. Kate Gustafson
2. Talan Harju
3. Valorie Rowe
4. Madolin Yuchasz

Modified

1. Tad Rowe
2. Matthew Rowe
3. Alex Gustafson

Stock

1. Alex Church
2. Tim Rowe
3. Branden Nielsen

Grand Prix

1.Tad Rowe
2.Tim Rowe
3. Michael Yuchasz
4. Angelo Harville
5.Troy Harju
6. Matthew Rowe

Matthew Rowe was the winner of this year's Sportsman Award.

Like all successful events, it requires some planning and preparation, but the payoff in fun and strengthening family relationships has been proven over the years.  By following a plan and distributing responsibility among several Cub Scout parents and leaders, a successful Pinewood Derby can be achieved. 

Mary Jendrusina is the Cub Pack Master, and she has organized and ran the Pinewood Derby for the past eight years.

The Boy Scouts of America is the nation's foremost youth-serving organization.  More than 4.7 million young people participated in scouting programs last year; 1.9 million of those are Cub Scouts.

--------------------------------------

Guest article written by Lou Bonagura of IronwoodInfo.com 

For more pictures and video to go along with this story, and for more news around the clock from the western U.P., visit IronwoodInfo.com.