By The Cedar Falls News Hub Staff
Four wheels. Breaks. No motor. A helmet for the driver.
These, in a nutshell, are the descriptors of soap box cars, the gravity propelled self-styled vehicles that have a large following.
On April 12, fans and the community will get a front row seat to an event that revives a 71-year-old tradition on the Hill.
It is called the Cedar Valley Soap Box Derby on College Hill, which is expected to become an annual event.
Nick Pedersen, the organizer, and a member of the Cedar Valley Manufacturers Association, said as a student at Cedar Heights Elementary in town, he fell in love with designing and building things that moved, and racing with his buddies around the neighborhood.
Among his friends was current Cedar Falls Mayor Danny Laudick.
As a leader of a team of engineers at Padget Technologies in Cedar Falls, he has not lost that childhood spark about invention and soap box cars.
“Soap box derbies used to be done in every town in the 1950s,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun to do, it is something for the community to engage and enjoy.”
Pedersen said the race will be a fundraiser for the CVMA, which is dedicated to raising awareness of manufacturing and helping young adults develop manufacturing skills.
“The idea is to give students in high school projects to work on,” he said.
He said he was surprised when Cory Hurless, of the Hearst Center for Arts, found a newspaper advertisement in the June 26, 1953, edition of The Cedar Falls Daily Record, promoting a July 4 soap box race on College Hill.
That prompted him to return to his childhood dream to race with soap box cars.
Nick worked with the city, and the business to ensure everyone was as excited as he was about the event.
At the event
Contestants will start from the top of the Hill, at the intersection of Seerley Boulevard. Their teammates will push them about 50 feet, like a bobsleigh, and then gravity will take over, he explained.
There is a youth race league for 12 to 18-year-olds, which will start at 9 a.m. (check in is at 7:30 a.m.).
The adult league will kick off at 2 p.m. (check in is 12:30 p.m.)
Pedersen said there will be two sets of bleachers for spectators in front of Bani’s liquor store on the corner of 22nd and College Streets.
Darryl Anant, of Elite DJ’s, will be playing music in between runs and making announcements.
Five judges, including Mayor Danny Laudick, will be keeping track of time.
The judges will award prizes in three categories–to the fastest competitor, to the most creative designer and for sportsmanship.
For the adult league, there will be a special traveling trophy the winner can take home for the year, and for the youth league, the trophy will be displayed at the school where the winner goes.
The goal is to raise $5,000.
“I am looking forward to seeing the tradition make a comeback,” Pedersen said. “I expect that we will sell out of all 60 registrations quickly.”