The organization announced earlier this week that their annual day of Alder Avenue races in mid-August will once again be cancelled, marking the second-straight year the event will be sidelined.
“There’s so much prep work for the races and then for something to change at the last minute and see it all go down the drain, you don’t want to waste the club’s money either for something we might have to call off,” said MJSBRA organizer Heather Carle.
“We wanted to hold them, but we draw a pretty big crowd and even the banquet before the races we draw 100 to 150 people, so it’s really hard to justify it right now.”
When it comes to simply holding the races, a day’s worth of setup and teardown isn’t exceptionally difficult. It’s everything leading up to the event and the activities surrounding it that make up the onerous part.
From ordering t-shirts and trophies to getting the cars teched and drivers prepared to planning and preparing the popular barbecue that’s part of the weekend, it’s all a lot of preparation before the first race is even held.
That’s not even taking into account the constant monitoring of Alder Avenue for potholes for the city to repair before race day, booking and closing the street as well as lining up all the volunteers needed to make things go off without a hitch.
“There’s an awful lot that goes into it, a lot of preparation and it takes a lot of work,” Carle said.
The good news is thoughts are already turning toward 2022. The pandemic is hopefully expected to be all but over by the fall and life largely back to normal in the months that follow. So this time next year, it’ll be full steam ahead.
“It’s going to happen next year,” Carle said confidently. “Kids are aging out and missing out on their last year of racing and we’re missing out on the momentum of having everyone out there and meeting new kids and keeping the club going. If it goes on too long, it’ll just be another thing that’s not happening because there won’t be anyone who’s running it.”
To that end, there’s a thought of holding a smaller local event in September if possible, just to keep everyone involved, but plans for that remain up in the air.
For more information on the club, keep an eye on their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/QueenCityAndDistrictSoapBoxDerbyClub or you can give Carle a shout at (306) 690-8300 or e-mail at MooseJaw.soapbox@hotmail.com.
Extra runs… The MJSBRA is currently looking for storage space for their many soap box cars and anyone able to lend a hand in that regard can reach Carle through the above contacts.
