The 35th Annual Okotoks Rotary Club Soapbox Derby happened this past weekend, and over 100 kids took part.
The Derby took place on Saturday, June 7, on Crystal Ridge Drive in Okotoks, and according to the Rotary Club of Okotoks President, Jeff Foss, it took the overall winner just over half a minute to get down the hill.
"We had a lovely day, and we had, I think it was 104 kids go down the hill," Foss explained. "And it was a good day, a lot of smiling faces."
There were 24 heats, each with 4 racers, competing to see who was the fastest this year.
"So, the fastest cart of the day was the number 83 car driven by Sterling Ross and sponsored by Max Power Marking," Foss explained. "And Sterling's time was 30.89 seconds to come down the hill."
Even though Ross was the overall winner of the day, the winner of each heat won a trophy for their particular heat.
The top four racers from this year's Derby are:
1st Place: Sterling Ross
2nd Place: Asher Greidanus
3rd Place: Bishop Ross
4th Place: Maye Poulin
On top of trophies for the fastest drivers, there were prizes for other categories, which were:
Most Creative: Cart # 3 (driven by Wesley Neilson)
Best Paint Job: Cart # 51 (driven by Everett Nix)
Best Costume: Cart # 20 (driven by Miles Neilson)
Most Enthusiastic Driver: Cart #27 (driven by Gavin Warkentin)
Best Crash Recovery: Cart # 51 (driven by Everett Nix)
These awards were chosen by the children through a ballot.
While they are still waiting for the Okotoks Municipal Enforcement to let them know the speed the carts were travelling, last year, the fastest cart went down the hill at just under 50 km/h.
Foss said an interesting thing happened at this year's Soapbox Derby.
"One of the dads came up to me regarding the final four drivers and that one that Sterling Ross won. I guess one of them was a brother, Bishop Ross, and another one was a cousin by the name of Asher Greidanus. And so, basically three cousins made it to the final four," Foss said.
If you missed this year's Soapbox Derby, don't worry, because Foss said they already have next year's planned, with it happening on June 6, 2026.
"We wouldn't be able to do this without our wonderful sponsors."