Derby Day in Clark!

Cub Scout Pack 145 of Clark and Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey Service Unit 53, “Clark, Garwood, & Winfield Girl Scouts” (CGWGS) worked together to host “Derby Day” for the second consecutive year. More than 80 Scouts, ranging in age from 5-14, came ready to race the gravity-powered wooden cars that they built and designed from scratch. The Cub Scout Pack 145 Pinewood Derby was held in the morning, with planning, set-up, and track assistance from the Girl Scouts. The CGWGS Powder Puff Derby was held in the afternoon with software, track assistance, and clean-up support provided by the Cub Scouts.

This year’s events were postponed from January until March 20, 2021, and held at Rahway River Park under the covered pavilions due to the constraints necessitated by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Masks were required of all participants and social distancing rules were observed by all. The event was live streamed in a private Facebook group for family members who were not able to attend.

Many of the Scouts had learned about car design and construction at the second annual Car Construction Clinic, hosted jointly by both organizations two weeks prior on 3/6/21, also at Rahway River Park. The clinic gave Scouts of all ages who were unfamiliar with the car-building process the chance to learn hands-on the ins and outs of building a derby car from scratch, and the physics of racing fast! Daisy, Brownie and Junior level Girl Scouts even had the opportunity to earn their Automotive Engineering badges by attending the clinic. Special thanks to Scout parent Wayne Raab (who has children in both Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts) for sharing his equipment and expertise, and to Girl Scout Cadette Sara Isabel Kaplan who provided valuable assistance at the Car Construction Clinic.

The Cub Scout Pinewood Derby event was run by Matthew Jadro (Assistant Cubmaster, Pack 145) and Bryan Hickman (Den Leader, Pack 145 Tigers). The pack is grateful to parent volunteers Bill Bellomo, Paul Mallick, and Danielle Caterino and Girl Scout Junior Lilijana Jadro who helped run the track on race day. Special thanks also go to Scout parents MIke Tomkowski, Peter Giovannielli, and Andrew Roesch for their assistance with weigh-in, and Andrew Rizkalla, Dave Kihm, and Jeremy Deitz who assisted with set-up. They would also like to thank Committee Chair Tom Klimuc for his consistent support with planning and conducting a successful event.

The Cub Scout Pack 145 Pinewood Derby winners were as follows:

Lions (ages 5-6):
First Place: Austin C.
Second Place: Andrew R.
Third Place: Kellan K.

Tigers (ages 6-7):
First Place: Liam R.
Second Place: Regan G.
Third Place: Matthew S.

Wolves: (ages 7-8):
First Place: Connor C.
Second Place: Samuel D.
Third Place: Maksim J.
Most Cub Made Car: Sean H.
Most Awesome Car: Christopher C.

Bears (ages 8-9):
First Place: Adrian T.
Second Place: James S.
Third Place: Mauricio V.

Webelos (ages 9-10):
First Place: Liam B.

Arrow of Light (ages 10-11):
First Place: Ethan O.
Second Place: Gabriel B.
Third Place: Jonathan K.

Grand Final:
First Place: Connor C. (Wolves) Car #308 “Agent P”, Avg. 197.68 mph
Second Place: Liam R. (Tigers) Car #201 “I Don’t Know” Avg. 197.13 mph
Third Place: Ethan O. (AOL) Car # 605 “Delorean” Avg. 196.82 mph

The Girl Scout Powder Puff Derby event was run by Leigh Anne Jadro (Service Unit Delegate, Leader Troop 41248), and announced enthusiastically by Sheryl Gluck (Leader Troop 40626). Special thanks to student-volunteer track operators Joe Hovick (Eagle Scout, Troop 145), Julianna Cistaro (Girl Scout Senior, CGWGS), and Lauren Gluck (Girl Scout Junior, CGWGS). The Girl Scouts would also like to extend their gratitude to Andres Caballero (Troop Leader, 41248) for providing technology setup assistance.

The CGWGS Powder Puff Derby Winners were as follows:

Daisies (ages 5-7):
First Place: Amaya G
Second Place: Rebecca S.
Third Place: Abigail L.

Brownies (ages 7-9):
First Place: Juliette R.
Second Place: Gabriella S.
Third Place: Kayla R.

Juniors (ages 9-11):
First Place: Allison N.
Second Place: Samantha S.
Third Place: Noelle R.

Cadettes (ages 11-14):
First Place: Isabella S.
Second Place: Kiersten M.
Third Place: Kenzie S.

Grand Final:
First Place: Allison N. (Junior) Car #307, “The Creeper Mobile” Avg. 200.93mph
Second Place: Isabella S. (Cadette) Car #401, ““Dream” Car” Avg. 200.85 mph
Third Place: Juliette R. (Brownie) Car #203, “Fire Lightning” Avg 199.35 mph