A freind and his 2 boys, ages 10 and 12 are coming over Saturday night for a little racing. It's their first time racing, so I want it to be enjoyable for them. I need some suggestions on a format. I currently use Trackmate timing software and like the championship format where you change lanes after each race and points are tallied. How should I setup the scoring (points for 1st-4th and points for laps)? I'm going to go to a local hobby shop this afternoon and pick up some parts for the cars to do basic maintenance so they are all as equal as I can get them with the virtually NO experience I have. I'm also thinking of getting a Racemaster GT-40 to give out to the winner. Their dad would really like them to get into something like this to maybe deter them from other activities he would rather them not partake in in the teenage years. I'm hoping they really get into it. All suggestions welcome. Thanks

Let the kids win--- it will do wonders.

NO SUGAR AND CAFFEINE FREE SODA!
Put the good cars away, it is amazing how fast they can break them. Show them how to fix the cars and stuff lube etc. Have Fun!

Let the kids win--- it will do wonders.

I will be racing with them, but I don't count really. The racing for the prize is between the kids.

NO SUGAR AND CAFFEINE FREE SODA!
Put the good cars away, it is amazing how fast they can break them. Show them how to fix the cars and stuff lube etc. Have Fun!

The only cars I currently have are the stock SG+ cars that came with the 2 International set I originally purchased, so we'll all be racing them. I have a RM GT-40 and an SRT Daytona, but those are mine only. As far as showing them how to properly maintenance a car, well, I don't even know that yet. All my time has gone into buying and buiding track. Once the track is finished then I will get into cars. I just want them to have fun racing. Add a prize for a little competative atmosphere.:thumbsup:

Honestly, I would have a prize for EACH kid. Maybe make the best one for the winner, but at that age, they'll be a pain in the ass if they lose and get nothing.

Token prizes will go a long way to teaching them winning isn't the most important thing but yet letting them understand that winning does indeed get ya more :)

Honestly, I would have a prize for EACH kid. Maybe make the best one for the winner, but at that age, they'll be a pain in the ass if they lose and get nothing.

Token prizes will go a long way to teaching them winning isn't the most important thing but yet letting them understand that winning does indeed get ya more :)

Makes sense to me. Thanks

Yea a prize is a great idea!

The biggest issue is how to handle it when cars deslot (or fly off the table if you don't have barriers). If the kids think they can just floor it all the time and the race stops to let them back on, it'll be chaos. A series of shorter "crash and burn" races are best with kids. If they crash, they're out and must wait for the next race. A moderately intelligent kid with a decent heart will quickly understand. A little jerk will pout and hate you. Pity that kid's father...

The biggest issue is how to handle it when cars deslot (or fly off the table if you don't have barriers). If the kids think they can just floor it all the time and the race stops to let them back on, it'll be chaos. A series of shorter "crash and burn" races are best with kids. If they crash, they're out and must wait for the next race. A moderately intelligent kid with a decent heart will quickly understand. A little jerk will pout and hate you. Pity that kid's father...

I like the idea of the crash and burn. Only problem is my layout might be tough for them and that wouldn't be very fun for them. I figure we'll do an hour of "practice" so they can get the hang of it, then we'll race to whatever format I can come up with. These are actually some pretty good kids, their dad has done a good job with them, so I don't think pouting will be an issue. They are also already very competative because they play multiple sports, so they understand the importance of practice and discipline. My 7 year old can keep the cars on the track after about 10 minutes of warm-up, they shouldn't have too much a problem after the practice laps.

Neo's right. Let them win! If ya can turn the voltage down to help keep them in the slot. It helps them learn to develop a rhythm, thus avoiding frequent deslots and subsequent frustrations.

Your teaching, not racing proper. When racing with the young'uns, use your "off " hand to operate the controller. A larf for sure.

Neo's right. Let them win! If ya can turn the voltage down to help keep them in the slot. It helps them learn to develop a rhythm, thus avoiding frequent deslots and subsequent frustrations.

Your teaching, not racing proper. When racing with the young'uns, use your "off " hand to operate the controller. A larf for sure.


I'm still in the process of ordering track for the final build as well as controllers and a variable supply (financial constraints at the time), so the power is not adjustable. But like I said before, my 7 year old daughter can do it, I'm sure these boys can figure it out.

My real question is on the scoring system. Is there a common scoring method that should be used?

As far as the "off" hand, I do this sometimes when my 5 and 3 year old want to race. I'm actually getting the hang of it.:p

I'm still in the process of ordering track for the final build as well as controllers and a variable supply (financial constraints at the time), so the power is not adjustable. But like I said before, my 7 year old daughter can do it, I'm sure these boys can figure it out.

My real question is on the scoring system. Is there a common scoring method that should be used?

As far as the "off" hand, I do this sometimes when my 5 and 3 year old want to race. I'm actually getting the hang of it.:p

Princess Bride quote comes to mind...

Why are you laughing?

Because I know something you don't know.

What is that?

I... am not left handed!!!!!

Spring that on them in the end and smoke em a few times :)

I agree with letting them win a bit as well, make it close though. ;)

As for getting the cars even, you won't.... maybe best to run them IROC style, so it's truly even, and it gives them a chance to run all the cars.

Most of all, have fun and don't put the emphasis on winning, they'll do it enough amongst themselves. =)

Sounds like you a good plan in mind for the race format and so on. And sounds like you will be "supervising" which is a good. Having experience with a bunch of kids on my track before, I would suggest that you limit the amount of cars available to race. New comers to slot cars tend to crash and then grab the next car within reach. Soon you have a pile up in one corner.

I have let kids run cars on my track unsupervised during cook outs with friends and trust me they can destroy everything in sight. It's nice that my friends can be outside and relax while the kids are downstairs playing, but I have lost some good cars by not watching them. At one party they managed to completely destroy a Parma controller and permanently broke the mounts on 2 of my lighted Group C turbos. It was my fault for leaving everything out and kids will be kids, but just offering word to the wise. :drunk:

Kids can be very comptetive. I had the owner of my company over once with his kids and we gave his 9 year old daughter a mildly modified Patriot P2E. The 2 boys had stock SG+. She walked on them all day and went home feeling she finally beat her older brothers at something they liked. :p Plus I earned points with the boss man. :thumbsup:

This thread has some ideas which you might find useful.

I think a drawing for cars before the racing starts is a fun idea. Not that they get to keep the car, but that ius the car they use for that nights racing. Get's the racer kind of attached to the particular car.

http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=212207

This thread has some ideas which you might find useful.

I think a drawing for cars before the racing starts is a fun idea. Not that they get to keep the car, but that ius the car they use for that nights racing. Get's the racer kind of attached to the particular car.

http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=212207

That's a great idea Scaf. It will be more "personal" in a way. Also thanks for the link, it a clear method for scoring.:thumbsup:

I'd suggest a points system (like F1 with so many points for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.) that accumulates over a series of races with prizes at the end. That will give them incentive to come back for more and try to improve their game with practice.

I'm a firm believer in races based on most number of laps for a given period of time. Whatever you do, the more time they get to spend on the track the better. I've never liked crash & burn and I hate track calls. If you wreck, you lose laps while the marshals put your car back on.

Another thing... some kids (and adults) don't like racing and are more than happy to just drive around for hours on end. Hey, no problem. Whatever keeps it fun is the right thing to do. Ordering up some pizza and taking a break to talk about slot cars and racing is always a crowd pleaser.

I'd suggest a points system (like F1 with so many points for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.) that accumulates over a series of races with prizes at the end. That will give them incentive to come back for more and try to improve their game with practice.

I'm a firm believer in races based on most number of laps for a given period of time. Whatever you do, the more time they get to spend on the track the better. I've never liked crash & burn and I hate track calls. If you wreck, you lose laps while the marshals put your car back on.

Another thing... some kids (and adults) don't like racing and are more than happy to just drive around for hours on end. Hey, no problem. Whatever keeps it fun is the right thing to do. Ordering up some pizza and taking a break to talk about slot cars and racing is always a crowd pleaser.

I am for sure going to be using a point system with rewards. The racing format is now in question basd on some good suggestions. Crash and burn probably wouldn't be much fun as it's their first time and they'll probably be crashing all night. There should however be a penalty of some sort assessed for crashing, that way they learn some control. I tell my 7 year old that's it's not who goes around the fastest but who can keep their car on the track the longest, because while your putting your car back on the track, I'm gaining uncontested laps. I'm leaning towards the time based racing with lane rotation. I've got another day to work out the details.

Oh yea, do you guys use any special spreadsheet for capturing your race data?

I agree with AFXToo, in that races based on 'most laps in a given amount of time' are better then 'first person to reach a given number of laps'. I experimented with both types, and decided I liked the prior better.

I do think that crash and burn type races have their place.
If you are short on marshalls, or if you have racers with a vast difference in skill.

Crash and burn races can result in some very cautious driving, and like AFXToo also mentions, some people just like to run the car around the track without crashing, so this type of race fits that situation.

In a family and friends type of race environment, I think a slower paced race with fewer crashes is more fun that a fast-paced race, where marshalling could determine the outcome.

Having said that, I have never actually ran a crash and burn race. But, when I read TK Solver's format at that link, I thought it had many positive aspects, and my next race is going to incorporate much of what he posted.

Well, now it looks like their will be 3 adults and 2 youngster racing tonight. We'll have to get a rotation going. I think I will have to incorporate a handicap of sorts for the adults. I've decided on the timed racing for the most laps completed with points awarded. I think I may have to do something like a ratio of 2:1 (2 laps for 1 point) for the adults, while the kids will be 1:1, to keep the scoring even. I bying 2 cars for prizes this afternoon on my way home from work. First place will get a RM GT-40. The prizes are only for the 2 kids though, the adults are not eligible. We'll be racing for bragging rights:thumbsup: I'll take some pics of the racing and post later tonight or tomorrow. Thanks everyone for the suggestions. More are welcome also as we don't begin until 4pm.

Handicap the adults? My 11 year old kicks the crap out of us...these kids sit in front of moniotrs games boys and do nothing but reactionary movements now.. they have lightning fast trigger fingers and can ussually out perform us old timers.. lol.. your gonna get taught old school by those kids lol.. have a blast!

Dave

Handicap the adults? My 11 year old kicks the crap out of us...these kids sit in front of moniotrs games boys and do nothing but reactionary movements now.. they have lightning fast trigger fingers and can ussually out perform us old timers.. lol.. your gonna get taught old school by those kids lol.. have a blast!

Dave


Funny that you bring that up. These kids are gamers for sure, but so am I. They play xbox quite a bit. Nothing is set in stone just yet. I'll see how they do after the practice session, then make up my mind on a handicap or not. I figure I'll easily beat all of them as I have home track advantage and many hours on each lane with each car. I've raced the 2 adults before and it was no challenge, and I SUCK!!! I'm sure that whatever I end up doing will be fun for everyone.

Our adult handicap is a shot of Goldschlager and a Buttershots chaser.

Not a fan of crash and burn or qualifying. I have an 80' six lane split into 10 segments. We run 5 minutes in each lane and total the distance. Three race season.

If you get a series going with more people I suggest allowing make up races. That way if you miss one you don't have the feeling of why bother, can't win. Trophies are a nice touch and little ones are cheap. Food and drink are a must.

WOW!!! what a blast. Boy was that fun. We ended up doing timed races for laps. We used a rotational series of sorts. There was 4 races to a series, each race 10 minutes in length. We raced 3 total series and accumulated a point total. We scored 1 point per lap with a 10 point bonus for fast lap and a 5 point bonus for fastest average lap per race. Once the practice session was over, I explained the racing and scoring system and showed them the prizes...see pic below. It got intense between the 2 boys and the winner took it with a score of 1061 to 1056. I would have never imagined it being so close and that made it so much fun. The 13 year old beat out the 12 year old in the last race to win it. Trust me, they are now slot car fanatics for life.:woohoo:

Sounds like everyone had a good time.By the expression on the boy's face you can tell who the winner was!!!:)

Sounds like everyone had a good time.By the expression on the boy's face you can tell who the winner was!!!:)

Oh yea, they both wanted that white car. After the racing was over and they got their cars they went to test them out and it turns out that the car nobody wanted, the PT cruiser was actually the better car. They are both SRT's, but I believe the weight distribution of the body on the PT allows it to run faster in the corners because the body is mostly directly above the chassis,wheras the cars with the wide or long bodies tend to fish tail. They both had a great time and cannot wait till th next racenight.

turnin' the young'uns on to slots!!!!:thumbsup:i dub the protector of the realm,defender of the faith!

turnin' the young'uns on to slots!!!!:thumbsup:i dub the protector of the realm,defender of the faith!

I saw the boys and their dad today, that's all they could talk about. The 2 boys are talkin smack, one won the points race, the other held fastest lap of the night. This should get good.