Soap Box Derby comes back to Brockport

Pictured (l to r) Bob Reusch, president of Brockport Kiwanis; Bill Reusch, Kiwanis member; Mayor Mort Wexler of Brockport; and kneeling in front, Dan Perry, Kiwanis member.

Soap Box Derby comes back to Brockport

Saturday, August 25 and Sunday, August 26, Brockport will host approximately 40 Soap Box Derby competitors, their families and Derby officials. The event is being sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Brockport, which also sponsors one of the competing cars. The racing will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. The site for the race is Clark and Smith Streets by Corbett Park.

Participants compete in three divisions: Stock, Super Stock and Masters. In the Stock division, boys and girls from 8 to 17-years-old compete in simplified cars that are built from kids purchased from the All-American Soap Box Derby (AASBD). Competitors in the Super Stock division build a larger car made from larger body shells. The Masters division boys and girls, ages 10-17, build more sophisticated, designed-style cars from kits. In competition, depending upon the grade of the ramp or hill, speeds can reach or exceed 30 mph. Winners can earn an opportunity to compete in Akron, Ohio by participating in AASBD sanctioned rally races in towns and cities during the regular Derby season. The U.S. is divided into 12 districts and racers earn points by competing in the regional events. The competitors that earn the most points at the end of the season in each district earn the right to compete in the All-American Rally Championships.

Brockport, which is in Region XI, is home to resident John O'Connor, who was the 2004 World Champion in the Super Stock Rally Division. Another Region XI racer, Mark Scuderi Jr. of Rochester, is the only American to win the European Championship, a feat he accomplished in 2001. His sister, Julie, placed fifth in the world in Akron in the Super Stock division in 1996. They are the children of the Region XI Director Mark S. Scuderi.

According to Bob Reusch, president of the Kiwanis Club of Brockport, "Our club is proud to be affiliated with AASBD. Both of our organizations are dedicated to the children of the world and to the betterment of their communities."

The goals of the Soap Box Derby program have not changed since 1934, which are to teach youth the basic skills of workmanship, the spirit of healthy competition and the perseverance to continue a project once it has begun.

In addition to the racing, the Brockport Police Department will have a booth set up for the purpose of sharing bicycle safety and bike registration.