Last Saturday, April 5, it was wooden hot rods and races for the Swift Current Group Two Scouts.
The Beaver Buggy, Cub Car and Scout Rally was a fun-filled event at the Swift Current Mall, where local Beavers, Cubs, and Scouts, race their handmade wooden cars and trucks, weave them through obstacle courses, and see which can run in the straightest line.
It all begins with a five-week long course that involves the kids building their own vehicles from scratch. Boobi-Dawn Legere, assistant group commissioner, committee chair, and all sections leader for the Swift Current Group Two Scouts, thanked Professional Upholstery & Carpet Cleaning in Swift Current for allowing them to use their shop space while creating the miniature vehicles.
"We like to have the kids do (the work) so that they can have that pride when we're doing the races," said Legere.
The beavers and the Cubs both build their vehicles from singular blocks of wood. They carve and cut away the excess to get the shapes they desire, while the Scouts work to build their model 18-wheeler semi-trucks out of sheet wood, slowly assembling them piece by piece. This process is closely monitored, with instructors ensuring they operate any tools in a safe and practiced manner.
After they complete them, it's time to test them out. Competing for points, they put their models through a ringer of different contests. During the actual event, they race them, drop them down ramps, see who can run the straightest lines, weave in and around an obstacle course, as well as try their best to push their car towards a target as close as possible.
"It's like a target at the end of the track," explained Legere. "If you get it right in the middle of the target it's five points and then further out it's less points."
The winners from the event are heading to Regina on April 12 to compete in regionals. Last year, the Swift Current Group Two Scots took home first place at the event, and are hoping to repeat that feat this year.