Interest in soap box racing picking up speed in Moose Jaw

Soap box racing took over the hill on Alder Ave. on Sunday as the Moose Jaw & District Soap Box Racing Club hosted its 34th annual event.

The race is held every year on the third weekend in August.

There were 11 kids competing this year from Moose Jaw, with 10 making the trip from Swift Current.

Moose Jaw club president Heather Carle said that "momentum is growing again", noting they only had a dozen racers last year. The Moose Jaw & District Soap Box Racing Club has a total of 11 members currently enrolled.

Racers range in age from 7 to 15, competing in both junior and senior categories.

A section of Alder Ave. was closed off for most of the day Sunday. The track consisted of a red lane and a blue lane with wooden ramps set up at the top of the hill. Riders race against the same opponent twice, with drivers switching lanes after the first run. The competitor with the biggest time differential wins that particular race. Sunday's event was operated in a double-elimination format, which guaranteed each racer at least four trips down the hill. 

Racers tune up their cars before the big race.

"We'd love to get Main Street but it's Main Street so it's hard to block off traffic," said Carle. "This is just one block off and it's got a nice curve but it's not straight up and down. It's a steeper curve than Swift Current. It's been on this street since 1987."

Volunteers from LB Beattie Autobody and TranscenDENT Paintless Dent Repair were stationed at the bottom of the hill and were responsible for loading the race cars on a truck and trailer which hauled the vehicles back up to the top. The truck was courtesy of Murray GM.

Carle explained that all of the wheels and axels for the race cars are from the All-American Soap Box Derby.

"The juniors are either a wood base or a fiberglass and then the seniors are pretty much all fiberglass. The junior cars with a racer in it weighs 206 lbs if it's fully weighted with no more than 15 lbs difference from the front to the back and the seniors are 236 lbs."

Safety is a top priority for the clubs as racers must wear helmets in addition to foam protection on the cars. The Moose Jaw Police Service was onsite Sunday with their radar gun clocking cars going as fast as 42 km/h.

"It's a fun sport and everyone seems to enjoy it," continued Carle. "We try to give them as many races as we can because there's only two races really in a year. Swift Current has their Father's Day weekend and then we have ours the third weekend in August. You want to race as many times as you can because after this a lot of them pack up the cars for the year until next year."

Carle says the great thing about soap box racing is that it's a family activity.

"We get together and the kids can personalize their cars whatever they want, they can get sponsors to paint them or they can put decals on them. The kids and the parents do that together and then if they need any help they can reach out to any of us and we'll help them out. We have club cars that you can rent. Some people own their cars. We want the family to be there, we don't want to have everyone just drop their kids off and go. They have to be here to help with the kids."

A BBQ was held Saturday night for racers, their families, and volunteers.

Carle explained she applied for a permit to close a portion of Alder Avenue for race day and that the city is always really good at getting the street ready for the event by fixing potholes and cleaning the street.

A section of Alder Ave. was converted into a soap box racing track.

Derek Jahnke is the president of the Swift Current Soapbox Racing Association, which has been operating for just over 40 years. The club has a total of 13 members, 10 of which raced in Moose Jaw on Sunday.

"The day went really good. We didn't get any rain. The cars ran fast. The kids had fun and that's the most important thing," said Jahnke, whose been involved in the sport for seven years. "It's good competition, they like racing against each other and they develop friendships and there's the mechanical aspect of it too."

He says soap box racing is affordable for families with cars provided by the Swift Current Soapbox Racing Association. The fee is $30 for the first car and $20 for a second.

Jahnke revealed the key to winning a race.

"You could take a car and have three different kids drive it and it's run three different ways. Basically, as long as the kids aren't steering the car a lot, they just pick a line and they ride it down, they're going to do well. The more you turn, the less speed you're going to have and you're going to end up losing."

Moose Jaw and Swift Current are the only two clubs that are currently operating in the region.

The 34th annual Moose Jaw Soap Box races wrapped up Sunday afternoon with plaques and prizes for the winners.

RACER STANDINGS:

SENIOR:

1. #47 Shane-SC, trophy sponsored by Buddy's Towing & Repairs
2. #2 Ainsley-SC, trophy sponsored by Buddy's Towing & Repairs
3. #23 Halyn-SC, trophy sponsored by Buddy's Towing & Repairs
4. #266 Danica-MJ, trophy sponsored by Buddy's Towing & Repairs
5. #201 Emmitt-MJ, trophy sponsored by Creative Clicks Signs & Wraps
6. #289 Lyndon-MJ, trophy sponsored by Creative Clicks Signs & Wraps

JUNIOR:

1. #9 Levi-SC, trophy sponsored by MJ Collison Centre
2. #10 Braxton-SC, trophy sponsored by MJ Collison Centre
3. #76 Maci-SC, trophy sponsored by Buddy's Towing & Repairs
4. #49 Kade-SC, trophy sponsored by Buddy's Towing & Repairs
5. #214 Jax-MJ, trophy sponsored by Buddy's Towing & Repairs
6. #219 Izabella-MJ, trophy sponsored by Buddy's Towing & Repairs
7. #251 Claire-MJ, trophy sponsored by Buddy's Towing & Repairs
8. #288 Jasper-MJ, trophy sponsored by Buddy's Towing & Repairs

SPECIALTY:

Monkey Wrench: #289 Lyndon-MJ, trophy sponsored by Buddy's Towing & Repairs
Hard Luck: #24 Ashton-SC, trophy sponsored by Hub Meat Market
Senior Sportsmanship: #2 Ainsley-SC, trophy sponsored by MJ Collison Centre
Junior Sportsmanship: #213 Juli-MJ, trophy sponsored by MJ Collison Centre

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Members of the Moose Jaw & District Soap Box Racing Club & the Swift Current Soapbox Racing Association