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Who:  Queen Anne Cub Scouts!

What:  Annual Soap Box Derby Event

Where:  Derby track near Woodland Park picnic area on N. 50th St. and west of the Lower Woodland baseball field (see attached directions; location can be tricky for newcomers to find)

When:  Saturday, July 25 starting at 9:30 a.m. (see den race schedule below) with a Pack run-off at 1:30 p.m.

What to Bring:  Bicycle helmet(!), wear your Pack t-shirt, water bottle & sun screen (it looks like hot weather). 

The Soap Box Derby is a racing event that has been run nationally since 1934.  The Soap Box Derby grew out of a photographic assignment of a Dayton, Ohio newsman who covered a race of boy-built cars in his home community and was so impressed with this event that he acquired a copyright for the idea and began development of a similar program on a national scale.  The first All-American race was held in Dayton in 1934 and each year since kids throughout the United States have built and raced Soap Box Derby cars in their home communities.

QA Cub Scouts has a Pack racing event annually at the Soapbox Derby track in Woodland Park.  The Pack has a set of six Soap Box derby cars, including two newly-built models with car-like steering and brakes that several of our Webelos scout families have been constructing over the past several weeks.  

Volunteers Needed As always, we can’t have a successful Pack event for our scouts without volunteers.  To make the Soap Box Derby a success we need the following posts filled:

Track Setup assistants – Four people from 8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. at the Derby track (see equipment needs below, too).  Bryan Paganelli is in charge of set up and will be there to give out assignments.

Time Keepers – two designated volunteers per den to time racers.  Please arrive 15 minutes ahead of the den scheduled time to transition from the previous den volunteers.

Derby car starters – two designated volunteers per den to help the boys start their race.  Please arrive 15 minutes ahead of the den scheduled time to transition from the previous den volunteers.

Race Starter – one volunteer per den to start the den-level races.  Please arrive 15 minutes ahead of the den scheduled time to transition from the previous den volunteers.

Snacks – Please contact Audrey Kamemoto directly (Kamemoto@spu.edu) if you are available to help with the entertaining snacks that will be available at the race track.

Track Tear-down assistants --  Four people from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. for track tear down.

Event Volunteer Coordinator – one individual to further enlist and coordinate the various volunteers.

Our primary event coordinators are Lee Eggebroten and Bryan Paganelli.  For now, please contact Valerie Paganelli directly if you are able to help

Equipment Needs – please let us know if you can provide any of the following items:

10# sledge hammer for set-up

Stop watches

White board and easel w/ dry erase markers

Announcer’s megaphone(s)

Den Racing Schedule – While all scouts and their families are invited and encouraged to attend the entire event, we realize this can make for a long day for many boys.  This year we are trying a new format by allotting times for each den to race the cars.  There are plenty of activities nearby (Woodland Park Zoo, Green Lake, etc.) if you need a diversion between your scheduled den races and the later Pack run-off (see below).  Of course, we also hope you will stay nearby to enjoy some of the fun of cheering on the other dens, visiting the snack station and/or helping with the event logistics!  We will attempt to stay as close as possible to the following schedule, but day-of-race scout and volunteer participation levels will dictate the exact schedule.

9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. – Webelos I & II

11:00 a.m. – noon – Bears

Noon – 1:00 p.m. – Wolves

1:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. – Tigers

Please plan to arrive at least 15 minutes ahead of your den scheduled time.  Each scout is guaranteed to race two times if they are present at the start of their den’s scheduled race time.  Den-level awards will be presented at the conclusion of each den’s scheduled race time.  The three fastest times in each den will receive an award.  If you are unable to attend during your den’s allotted time, you may still get the chance to race the cars at an alternate time if all scouts scheduled at that alternate time have completed their two races.  If a scout races at other than his den’s allotted time, he will not be eligible for den level awards nor be able to advance to the Pack run-off.  All racers will receive a derby segment patch.

Pack Run-Off Schedule

1:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

The eight fastest times across all dens from the earlier den-level racing will advance to the Pack-wide, single elimination run-off.  You’ll want to be sure to be at the track at 1:30 p.m. to see if your scout is among the top racers (volunteers will not be cell-phoning the winners).  We will pull from the next fastest participants present at the track at 1:30 p.m. until we complete the top-eight roster to vie for the honor of Pack 70 / 72’s 2009 fastest soap box derby racers.  The paired, run-off races will not be timed.  We hope you will plan to return to the Derby track to cheer on the racers even if your scout is not in the run-off.

This is a family event, so bring along siblings, grandparents and friends to watch the scouts race!

Valerie Paganelli

On Behalf of QA Cub Scout Pack 70 & 72

(206) 301-0608 home

(206) 437-7321 cell