Annual downhill race set for June 9
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The 5th annual Tillsonburg Kiwanis Club downhill race is set for June 9, 2013 on Old Vienna Road.
“What we originally started doing this for was to get parents involved with your children,” said Mike Dean, president of the Tillsonburg Kiwanis Club. “You buy the kit, you build it (the soapbox cart) as a family and you come out and race it as a family – that was our goal behind it.”
Participants can expect to see a similar itinerary for this year’s downhill race. The event is open to children between the ages of 6 to 12 and includes four or five different categories and trophies for first, second and third place finishes.
Registration for the event begins at 11 a.m. dry runs begin a little later and finish at 1 p.m. During this time, children will have time to do practice runs down Old Vienna Road.
“Kids can start pre-running down the track at 12 p.m, just in case you want to tweak your cart a little bit, make it work the way you want it to, and racing starts at 1 p.m,” said Dean.
Dean said last years numbers totaling approximately 35 participants, were less than expected. He’s hoping to see about 50-60 kids come out with their families and enjoy this year’s downhill racing event.
“There is a swag bag full of goodies for every kid that comes out and participates,” said Dean. “So if you don’t win a trophy, you still get the swag bag, a t-shirt and other things.”
In addition quality time with their family and the race itself, part of the fun is seeing children use their creativity with their downhill karts.
“We encourage you to build your kart however you want, it’s just got to be within our width requirements and using the kit for the axels and the steering. Other than that, it’s open to whatever you want to do for a design,” explained Dean.
While the annual Kiwanis downhill race is not a fundraiser, it does put the focus on children and families.
“Our goal is children first. If we can get a parent involved with their child a little bit more, we did want we wanted to,” Dean added noting that for those kids who may not be able to afford a kart kit, there are a few available for them to use in the downhill race in June.
“What we’ve done, is we’ve built ten carts for the underprivileged kids that show up and don’t have a cart, or if no one built them one,” he said. “They can use one of the ten pre-built carts.”
The downhill (soapbox) races is how Dean first became involved with the organization and said the event continues to be a tradition for the Kiwanis Club today, providing local children and families with a day of quality time and good, old-fashion fun.
“We’re a great bunch of men and woman that try to help some of the underprivileged and make life better for children,” said Dean. “They are our future.”