The Soap Box Derby is coming to town

The Annual Moths Soap Box Derby was an iconic event that has been part of the Roodepoort calendar for many years, always at the same venue beside Florida Lake at the Moths Shell Hole.

“It gave great pleasure to many young people and is fondly remembered by all who were involved or took part. Sadly, the increased traffic, the development of the area, and the increasingly onerous requirements of health and safety led to the demise of the event some time ago,” said Ivor Clifford, fundraising chairman of the Lions Club of Roodepoort Host.

The club would like to see this uniquely Roodepoort tradition remembered, revived and revitalised, and therefore, have taken it upon themselves to bring the derby back to life.

The new event is scheduled for April or May next year, which gives any interested parties time to build a cart. The exact time and venue are yet to be released but the club encourages individuals to start building their carts now in preparation.

“This event could not be exactly as the old one, a different venue would be needed. It would be run on grass and many other events would be included to give a wider appeal to the whole community. Besides the very exciting downhill run, the Lions propose a push-cart relay event for younger participants and families,” Clifford explained.

It will be the centennial year of Lions Clubs International and besides pancakes and cold drinks, there will be stalls for fun events such as ‘whack a mouse’, ‘pull the string’, ‘pick a ball”, tombola and many others.

“Lions is a service organisation and our focus on this day will be engaging with the youth, the prevention of blindness, relieving hunger and protecting the environment but, overall, it will be a day of fun and entertainment,” Clifford added.

This is a chance for parents and children to have fun building a cart and for children to learn new skills. Groups of friends can have the satisfaction of creating their own machine, enjoy the thrills of a fast twisting downhill run, healthy competition, win prizes and meet new people.

There are different age group categories from seven to seventy so everyone can join in. The Moths will donate the original trophies for the event.

“There must be many people out there who have memorabilia, programmes, photographs, stories and even old Soap Box Carts from that era. If you have any of these things or would be interested in helping us to rebuild this event we would like to hear from you,” said Clifford.

Please contact either Ivor Clifford on 082 441 2153 or Colin Gover on 011 672 9433.