Raingutter Regatta

[Maureen-SC]

Hi Moms,

I need some input on this.  We had our raingutter regatta yesterday and unfortunately it was a disaster from the word go.  My husband (cubmaster) called everyone on Saturday (the day before the event) to see how many were coming (we held it at our pool club) and what they were bringing (potluck).

Well, Sunday afternoon comes and 2 people don't show up or don't bring their boat, throwing off the whole grid.

THEN two of the parents/scouts didn't use all the parts in their boat kit.  They made their boats catamaran style and left off the mast, simply attaching the sail to the boat.  Both those boats won, causing an unfair advantage to everyone else who followed the directions contained inside the box, as well as quite a few angry parents and crying boys.

The guilty parties say there are no *rules* and that the modified boats weren't cheating.  The cubmaster offers that perhaps we should have two divisions next year - traditional and modified.

I say FOLLOW THE RULES.

Oh, did I mention someone threw up in the pool?

Maureen

[mischele]

oh thats the worst when the rules arent followed. im just happy that you guys were able to have the boats. i tried that the first year my son was in cubscouts but the leader didnt want to go to the trouble. since we all do the derby. how hard is it to do boats. we could have done the boats at a meeting instead of letting the boys run around like crazy animals.

[Maureen-SC]

I agree.  It's not any harder than Pinewood Derby.  One mistake we made with the regatta was not having a check-in day, like with the derby.

I'll bet if you could get a committee together to handle all the details, they might let you do it next year (or maybe this summer?)

[nuts4scouts]

Too bad it did not work out well.  However you did learn some things for next year!

When we do the Raingutter we are not very formal.  We don't even use the BSA kit.  We use foam meat trays cut to fit in the gutter, straws split on the bottom so they stand up straight taped to the tray, and sails cut from printer paper.

The boys, at the event, decorate their tray and sails however they want.  Then the boys line up at each gutter and race whoever is next to them.  They keep racing until they are tired, or we are.  Then we have some water games and a potluck picnic.  Every boy gets a participation certificate and we do a certificate for the top 2 or 3 "best decorated".

Everyone has fun and no crying or "cheating".

[lilpawz]

I like your way nuts4scouts

[Mbailey]

Oh...I dislike when things go kinda wrong.....no fun in that!

We have not done one of these yet... but this posts offers a lot of ideas and things to avoid if possible!

Thanks for posting!

[keepmesimple12]

Hun what rules does your pack have doing Rain Regatta? Each Pack has their own rules for the type of boats the boys can make. If your Pack does not have any rules set in place then thos boys have every right to make it the way they did. I love it someone puked in the pool. Eating and swimming will do that sometimes to a child. The most important thing is did all the boys have fun at some point and time and did they all Do Their Best? Then it was a sucess. Robyn

[Maureen-SC]

Hi nutsforscouts,

I like that idea!!  I'm going to bring it up at the next Committee Meeting.  I like the idea of racing for fun and just giving prizes for best in show, and participation certificates for the rest.  Excellent idea!

[Maureen-SC]

Thanks Robyn.  The problem was the *perception* of cheating.  A couple of the parents were angry about the modified boats.  In their mind, the instructions in the kit were clear to use every part.  But when I read it, it looked to me like it was just setting out what was included in the kit.

We've done it for 2 years and never had to set out specific rules, but we learned this year that we need to do that!

[KidsHelper]

We have given up the Regatta.  We tried it but the boys just aren't interested.  This past weekend we had a "family campout" instead.  It went over much better.  We had must of our pack participating, and everyone had a great time.  We ate hot dogs, had a "treasure" hunt, and burned a large number of marshmallows.  What more can you ask for?  I do like the idea of having prizes not based on winning.  It makes it much more fun for everyone.  You may want to be much more literal with the rules next time.  If they can only use certain things, or must use all the parts, you may want to specify.