Soap Box Car Art Contest

Race Week Edmonton’s 1st Annual
Soap Box Car Art Contest

The intent of this is to:

• Create a city-wide visual impact surrounding the current Edmonton Indy, Race Week Edmonton’s Soap Box Derby (and its future), and to give a cohesive impression that there is excitement within the city,
• Provide a nominal cost, fun activity for anyone out in the region to participate in the event,
• Provide a spirit of competition within the business community – fostering employee engagement and corporate pride, and
• Expand into a larger multi-tiered event to encompass bikes, canoes, etc as the suite of Race Week Edmonton events increases

Given that this is the inaugural year for this contest, we will look at a smaller scale version in 2011. Individual art entries are capped at 50 Stock and 50 Modified – mainly due to space constraints for final judging. Corporate entries are also capped at 50 Stock and 50 Modified for FINAL judging. We do encourage companies to have multiple entries within their organization to promote company competition. Given 2011′s cap on entrants, all corporate and individual kits are available for judging regardless of whether or not there was an inter-departmental playdown.

The premise for 2011 is:

• Utilizing the Go Kit package, the competition surrounds the decoration and/or the design of the final “soap box” product.
  • Go Kit package and examples are available here
• There are 2 categories with 2 levels – Stock (individual and corporate) and Modified (individual and corporate)
  • Stock level can only decorate a standard kit. To be considered “stock”, the completed kit should be able to pass a technical inspection just like it were to enter the actual race.  ADDENDUM July 11, 2011.  With the introduction of the Corporate Prebuilt kit, brakes are not required if the intention is not to race these kits.  This applies to both the individual and corporate category.
  • Modified level allows the builder to add unique touches, but must retain the original kit’s chassis and overall dimensions. The final design must include steerage and braking just like the stock kits, but the design can be modified for aesthetic looks or altered for a more customized appeal. These kits do not need to pass a technical and/or safety inspection as they are truly an expression of art.

Pricing

For either the Stock or Modified categories, the prices are as follows:

• $150 Individual
• $500 Corporate

To purchase a kit either fill out our PDF form or use our secure online ordering through PayPal below:

 

Soap Box Art Contest

Corporate $500.00 Individual $150.00

Stock or Modified category

Stock Modified

Name and e-mail address

 

Displaying your completed Art Project.

• Individual Kits, both Stock and Modified, can be displayed at any location during the contest. Race Week Edmonton needs to be notified, in writing, where the entry will be displayed so that we can ensure the location is broadcast on our website.
• Corporate Kits are assumed to be displayed on the premises of the corporation entering the event. This not only ensures that the kit is displayed for generating excitement about the event(s), but to also provide our corporate entrants another venue to further use this event to drive corporate morale and identity. This also provides an opportunity for many departments within a company to compete with each other in designing and displaying either a stock or modified project – further providing an opportunity for corporate team building or an “ice breaker” event.

Final Judging

Final Judging

Final judging will take place at the Go Kit Show and Shine, 1 week after the INDY weekend.

• Individual Kits, both Stock and Modified, will be on display at our sponsored location for judging.  All 100 individual kits are invited to participate.
• MODIFICATION July 11, 2011. Corporate entrants will be allowed to show off any and all entries they have into the show and shine.  No prejudging required, but an internal contest can be a fun corporate event prior to the show and shine.
• The public that attends the judging event will be allowed to cast a paper ballot for judging.  The top 5 from each category move to the finals for our judging panel.
• The judging panel will review the finalists for presentation, usability for the stock class, originality for the modified class, and visual appeal of the art itself.

The location of the final judging is too be determined, but expected to be central to the Edmonton Region.

Q&A

1. I am a small company.  $500 may be too steep for me.  Is there a discount?
   1. No; however, we can suggest that if only a certain individual wants to enter, you can “sponsor” your employee as an individual entrant and he/she can represent your company that way.
   2. Please keep in mind that this is also a fundraising event.  RWE is a desingnated not-for-profit company in Alberta.  Our designated charity is the Alberta Diabetes Association.
2. Are these kits pre-built?
   1. Yes, for coporations there will be a small number of pre-built kits available, however, part of the fun and challenge is in building the kit itself.  This is not a difficult kit to create and assemble.  Basic use of hand tools and about 4 hours of time is all it takes.
3. Are stock kits expected to be race ready?
   1. Stock kits are just that – stock.  They possess the right dimensions and design requirements as outlined in the rules for the Soap Box Derby.  While passing a full tech inspection is possible, they need to have all the requisite parts as if they were to run down the hill.  We will bring the ramp to the Finals to allow anyone with a stock kit to run down the hill.  Due to safety and insurance reasons, modified kits will NOT be sanctioned to run in 2011.