Scouting, Volume 77, Number 3, September 1989 Page: 38
90, E1-E16, [16] p. : ill. (some col.) ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Dens compete in other events, too, like this spray bottle target
range. Object: extinguish a row of burning candles.
Everyone wins at the derby. Packs get a ribbon in events like
the target toss, even if no one puts a ball through the hole.
decorations. They also can practice racing
with it.
"The judges grade you on looks and
safety," said Dan Vaden, a unit commis-
sioner for Pack 333 in Danville. "I think
we lost a little on a few sharp edges last
year, so we put foam there this year."
Pack 333's chariot featured bright or-
ange front panels, "fall colors to brighten
things up a little." To keep it lightweight,
they used a lot of plastic pipe. Construc-
tion and painting time, Vaden said, took
about seven hours.
"The boys get very enthusiastic about
this race," said Vaden. "They're compet-
itive, but it's from a standpoint of trying to
do the best they can and not trying to beat
everyone else."
At the '88 derby, Cub Scouts raced
their chariots against time across about
1,000 yards of level grass (a cow pasture
where Turbeville hosts its Cantaloupe
Festival every summer). Each chariot
team consisted of seven boys, and any den
with an odd number of boys could borrow
boys from other dens or packs. If a den
arrived at the starting line without a char-
iot, it was allowed to borrow one. By
sharing, every Cub was able to partici-
pate.
While the chariot race was the main
event of the day, derby chairwoman Pam
Ayuso, a former den leader who now
helps Clark with district events, recruited
packs to operate and judge six other con-
tests:
• tossing a ball through a target
• rope swing
• horseshoe pitching
• nail driving
• chewing gum and walking a balance
beam at the same time
• shooting candles with spray bottles of
water.
At each event, teams received a four-
inch strip of blue, red, or yellow ribbon,
based on how well they performed the
skill. For example, if six or seven boys
pitched a tennis ball through a suspended
inner tube, the pack got a blue ribbon. If
four or five made the toss, they received a
red. Three or fewer through the target
won a yellow.
After competing in all the events, the
packs turned in their ribbon stubs at a
central station, where adult leaders then
assigned values to the ribbons and calcu-
lated a final score for each pack. While
the final scores were being tabulated, the
packs were sent on a scavenger hunt. At a
closing campfire in the late afternoon,
packs were presented with a long blue,
red, or yellow streamer, based on how
well they scored in all events.
"I don't fool with score sheets," said
Dave Clark. "With 40 or 50 teams, that
becomes an administrative nightmare.
w /Je
It looks as though Burt Elmore, Pack 376.
is repairing his chariot, but lie s actually
competing in the nail-driving event.
And you can't worry about timing team
performance; it can't be done."
To start each chariot race, Chris
"Bear" Aldrich, Scoutmaster of Troop
359 in Danville, fired his black powder
pistol. He wore what he called an "east-
ern mountain man" outfit, complete with
a red fox hat he made and a powder horn.
Seventy individual chariot races were
run that day, using 21 different chariots.
The athletic prowess and cheers, which
probably were heard across the nearby
North Carolina line, would have im-
pressed Charlton Heston and the casting
director of "Ben Hur II."
"It was fun," said Lane McBride, a
new Cub Scout in Pack 496, after finish-
ing the race. "I was lucky I got to ride in
the back 'cause they went over some
bumps and dropped the chariot at the fin-
ish line. But I think we all did O.K."
McBride's mother, Vivian, leader of
Den 5, videotaped the action. She was
one of several adults carrying video cam-
eras that afternoon.
"I taped the chaos beforehand and the
getting ready and the race itself," she
said. "The footage might make it to a den
meeting one day.
"The boys were excited about the idea
of this derby when we talked about it,"
she added. "They were looking forward
to it. It's new to them, so I think they
didn't know what to expect."
Parent Dan Currie of Danville also
videotaped the day as his Bear Cub Scout
son, Daniel, competed. "There's no other
way you could remember it all," said
Currie, as he jockeyed for a good spot to
shoot the nail driving.
"This is my second year at this. I think
they do a good job organizing the activity.
My son talked about it last year for two or
three weeks after it was over."
Earle Garrett, a former district com-
missioner, said he's seen interest in the
derby grow year to (continued on page 89)
38
September 1989 ^ Scouting
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 77, Number 3, September 1989, periodical, September 1989; Irving, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth353657/m1/38/: accessed May 22, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.