Sunday February 5th
St. Edwards Parish, Medfield -  9:00am Mass
United Church of Christ,  Medfield - 9:30am Service

The Boy Scouts of America designates the Sunday that falls before February 8 (Scouting Anniversary Day) as Scout Sunday, which is the primary date to recognize the contributions of young people and adults to Scouting. Religious institutions around our area recognize the importance of scouting in the community and celebrate their member scouts, scout families and adult leaders on this day.  Locally, St. Edwards Parish ( our Charter Organization ) and the United Church of Christ actively recognize Scout Sunday.

If your religious institution is St. Edwards, please join us at the special 9:30am mass for Scouts.  Scouts and Leaders should wear their Class A uniforms.  Leaders are also encouraged to participate in the mass by greeting parishioners, passing the offerings basket, passing out bulletins at the end of Mass, or cleaning up after the "linger longer".

We are looking for a few volunteer to show up at 8:30am to help prepare for the "linger longer".  If you are able to help out please contact Louise Kazanjian at louise.kazanjian@gmail.com.

Please help us recognize our scouts, scout parents, volunteers and leaders, and the contributions they make to community by participating in Scout Sunday!

Pack 200 Families,

As the Coordinator for the Pack 200 Derby, I want to extend my deepest appreciation to all the parents who volunteered their time.

With special thanks to Dan Gipson for coordinating the Lowe’s workshops, Gary MacDonald for enthusiastic starts, Jim Brand and Bruce Gaffney for scoring and ordering trophies, John O’Brien and Jimmy Gallagher for track set up, Bill Finn for the sound system, Gordon Johnson for photography, Jim Hatch for track logistics and concessions, Bob Williams and scouts Sam Johnson and Andrew Maritan for concessions support, John Messina for race and workshop support, and Kent Redding and Bob Tormey for general support. I know there are still others who were involved behind the scenes and your efforts did not go unnoticed.

My thanks also go to the parents who manned the registration desk throughout the day including Bill Finn, Dan Gipson, Jonathan Gray, Minta Hissong, Cathy O’Neill, Chris O’Sullivan, and Sue Toohey.

Thanks also to Al Manganello at the American Legion and to Pack 113 for their flexibility in scheduling this entire event on a single day. And to all the Tiger Cubs and their families for their patience and wonderful sportsmanship when we had to start their race over.

It takes a village to raise a child, and apparently, to run a Pinewood Derby. Thank you all for making this run so smoothly.
Finally, thanks to all the families who supported the scouts in the Derby and by purchasing food. We raised over $500 for Pack activities one hot dog at a time!

While few can win, all were inspired to celebrate the thrill of the race. It was a pleasure to be a part of this community building event in my fourth and final year.

I’m proud to announce that Pack 200 swept the Inter-pack Championship Race this year:

First Place                    Daniel Toohey

Second Place               Owen Brand  

Third Place                   Aidan Redding           

We implemented a few new things this year, and there’s always room for improvement. If you want to join the fun or have suggestions for next year, please email me the new Derby Coordinator Jim Hatch atJamesHatch98@verizon.net.

Have great photos? Please upload them to the Pack 200 share site before Feb. break so they can be included in the Blue and Gold slide show: http://pack200scoutsmeethere.shutterfly.com/ (password: pack200). And the online news source Patch has also asked for photos – email them to:jeremie.smith@patch.com with a brief description of the photo.

Lastly, Pack 200 will send scouts who placed 1-2-3 in each rank to the District Pinewood Derby at Bass Pro Shops on Sat. March 24 from 10 – 6 pm (more specific race times announced closer to the event). Everyone else is also eligible to race (including siblings) for a $15 fee / $10 for all other scouts who didn’t place but who want to race again in the District race. Please contact Bob Tormey at bktormey@verizon.netbefore Monday evening, Feb. 6 to guarantee your place. You may be able to sign up later if space is available.

Thanks again and congratulations to all participants!

Jean Mineo

Pack 200 Pinewood Derby Rules, consistent with Seven Rivers District Rules

Parents should provide advice, instruction, and should handle any tools that are sharp, or beyond the familiarity of your son. Scouts should do as much of the construction and finishing as possible.

3.4 CONSTRUCTION

• Cars must be newly constructed for this year’s event from an official kit. If you need another kit, only Grand Prix Pinewood Derby Car (no. 1662) from the BSA is acceptable

• Cars shall be free-wheeling with no starting devices – gravity powered ONLY

4.0 RACE CAR REGULATIONS

4.1 OVERALL CAR SPECIFICATIONS

• Max. overall width (outside edge to edge of wheels) is 2 ¾”

• Min. width between wheels is 1 ¾” to fit the track

• Wheelbase – distance between axels can be changed as long as the wheels do not exceed the maximum length

• Max. length = 7”

• Max. height = 3”

• Track clearance = min. 3/8” from bottom of car to track

• Front of car: no part of car can extend beyond starting post

• Max. weight = 5 oz.

• The min. diameter of the wheel must be 1.170 inches

HINT: Pinewood derby cars are gravity driven. Make your car as close to the 5 ounce weight limit as possible. Test your weight at the post office or on Friday night, Jan. 27 at the race site from 6 – 8 pm.

HINT: cars with very narrow noses can have problems covering the finish line sensors because these sensors select the finish order based on the sequence in which the light sensors are activated not necessarily on the order the cars cross the finish line. A narrow nose can slide past the sensor until a wider part of the car (axel) covers the sensor and registers the finish.

4.2 MATERIALS

• Paint, decals, decorations allowed as long as they are Cub Scout appropriate

• Pre-cut design bodies will NOT be allowed to race

• Purchasing of completed cars, modified wheels or axles is prohibited

4.3 WEIGHT

• Max. 5 oz. (block of wood is approximately 3.4 oz)

• Weights must be securely fastened to the car (permanent glue, nails or screws but not by tape or tack spray). Weights must NOT be taped on (masking or duct). Heavy duty double back tape such as that used by the ones sold by the BSA – stick on weights (WW7603) are NOT allowed

• No liquid weights permitted. Weights shall be passive (non-moveable, non-magnetic, non-electric, non-sticky)

• Weight can be added or subtracted during inspection, but no weights can be added after the car has been impounded.

4.4 WHEELS AND AXLES

• Cars must have 4 wheels attached from official kit

• Wheels shall turn about the axle nails from the official kit. It must be obvious to the judges that the wheels and nails from the kit are being used

• Only official BSA wheels and axles may be used as replacements

• Hubcap, wheel covers, washers, inserts, sleeves, bushing, or bearings are NOT allowed

• Axle nails shall be firmly affixed to the wood of the car body. Axles may be modified or polished. Axles created to appear similar to official axles, or are manufactured from a different raw material and shaped to conform to the dimensions of the official BSA nails/axels are NOT allowed. No chromed or nickel-plated axles permitted. Axles cannot be grooved or notched

• Wheels may be modified or sanded to remove molding burrs as long as tread smoothing and polishing does not result in substantially reducing the wheel width from the original kit wheels. The min. diameter of the wheel must be 1.170 inches. The words BSA Pinewood Derby and some of the original “tread marks” on the wheel face must remain intact and visible to the inspector. Wheels may not be machined to a beveled condition and the portion of the wheel surface that contacts the track must remain parallel to the axel.

4.6 LUBRICANTS

• Wheels and axels may be lubricated with DRY POWDERED LUBRICANT only prior to registration. No liquid lubricants accepted.

4.7 UNACCEPTABLE CONSTRUCTION

• No loose materials or parts are permitted

• Cars with wet paint will not be accepted

RACE DAY RULES AND INFORMATION

1. Scouts should come early to register and weigh in on the official scale. Adjustments are allowed until starting time. There will be a lubrication table set up at the race with some tools available.

2. Cars are then officially registered and impounded. Cars will be assigned a number, these numbers are used by the racing software to assign tracks. Cars will race on all 4 tracks, against (mostly) different cars in each race, assigned by the software.

3. Once impounded, handling of the cars by contestants is not allowed during the race except for repairs discussed below. Cars are returned after they are finished racing.

4. Once the race begins, no late entries allowed.

5. If a wheel falls off or if the car becomes otherwise damaged, the scout may have 5 minutes to perform repairs (time may be extended by the Trackmaster). The race results where the problem occurred stands--there will be no do-overs. Cars shall be re-inspected after repairs are completed.

6. If a contestant's car jumps the track without being interfered with by another car in the race, the jumped car loses that race. The race will not be rerun.

7. If a contestant's car is damaged by another car which has jumped the track, or by an accident while being handled by Pack officials, the damaged car can be repaired with assistance and the car will be assigned to a later race. If the car is not repairable, the contestant will be awarded a third place finish.

8. All decisions of the Pack Committee Chairman, Cubmaster, and the Assistant Cubmaster are FINAL!

[From Nancy Stevens, 2011 Blue & Gold Banquet Coordinator]

No matter how much pre-planning goes in to an event like the Blue &
Gold, what makes it successful is the effort on that day.  This was
driven by the 'pack'  - from the leaders down to parents, scouts and
the community.

The set up crew worked sooo hard-- we were a small team with lots of
energy. Michael, Bob W., Jean, Jim B, Gary, Bob T, Paula T.  Thanks
for dealing with me dishing out duties!  Special thanks to the balloon
crew --Paula Tierney, Jim Hatch, Michael and the kids! and to Jean for
helping me walk through the layout.   Scouts on set up included Derek
Stevens, Owen Brand, Tyler Hatch and Aidan Finn.  Big thanks to Jim
Hatch who just showed up and saw we needed help!   'just in time' help
thanks goes to Rene on some last minute set up.   And thanks to Bob T.
for his expertise on the small details for the pathway, the flags, the
candles and tribal music. And of course my husband Michael who was
there when I needed him most.

Gary is truly a cub MASTER of ceremonies.  He was extremely thoughtful
about the evening's flow of events and his attention to detail kept
everything going smoothly. Thank you to Bill Finn for his artistic
influence on the music choices.  Bill's enthusiasm behind the whole
set up and running of the PA/sound system was contagious.  The music
was perfect! It provided great vibe for each part of the program--
including set up!

At the end of the evening it was impressive to see all the scouts and
parents just pitch in and do what was needed to clean up.  Special
thanks to Cheryl and Chris Hogan, Denise & Nick Iannone, Jean Mineo,
and the Schroter family.

Jim Hatch deserves a HUGE SPECIAL thank you for jumping in at EVERY
angle when something was needed.   From balloons and soda during set
up.....to getting his trailer during the event and taking every piece
of garbage away for us.  THANK YOU!!!!