By Jessica La Plante
News-Chronicle
Although most kids have to wait until they're 16 to get their own set of wheels, some local youth are tasting that coming-of-age experience much earlier in life.
Gathering Sunday along a quiet backstreet in Ashwaubenon to show off their custom-built cars, were 30 young racers who competed in the 5th Annual Green Bay Area Soap Box Derby. The drivers, ages 8-18, kept Ashwaubenon's Centennial Street whizzing with aerodynamic cars and fast-paced fun.
Cindy Hamlin, director of the derby, said the local soapbox club got its start in the 1960s, but experienced a rebirth five years ago.
Hamlin said the club's annual event attracts 30-50 racers per year from Wisconsin and surrounding states. She explained the basic rules of the game: Racers compete in three categories, stocks, super stocks and masters, which are distinguished by a driver's height, body weight, model and make of their cars.
The strategy of the race hinges on the laws of physics. Like the balls in a pinball machine, the cars get their initial momentum by being ejected out their starting positions.
"It's all done on gravity, both cars are released at the same time to go down the hill," Hamlin said. "(Winning) depends how straight you can keep your car."
Hamlin said the sport has many valuable lessons to teach children, aside from offering the usual perks of competitive fun, trophies and the camaraderie of peers.
For starters, all racers are required to build their own soapbox cars with the help of a mentor-figure, usually a parent or guardian. The activity creates a unique opportunity for parent-child interaction, she said.
The task of car assembly can take anywhere from a week to eight months, depending on the sophistication of the car and the level of custom work involved.
Most kids who participate in the Green Bay club assemble their cars from kits which cost about $400. To help defray the expense of racing, every child is encouraged to find a local business to sponsor their soap box.
Having a top-notch soap box isn't the only secret to racing. Winning also depends on the skill level of the driver.
Ten-year-old Crystal Reynolds of Green Bay said she practices stretching exercises every day to make her body more agile so she can lean closer to the car and pick up more speed.
"There's a lot of work to it," Reynolds said. "You have to stretch all winter long, I do it two times a day."
Her father, Joe Reynolds, said the sport teaches kids more than just an appreciation for the laws of physics.
It teaches them about responsibility and work ethics, he said.
He said the task of assembling and maintaining soap boxes helps kids understand that the best things in life must be earned through hard work.
"(Crystal) loves her car, she brought it to show-and-tell at school," Joe Reynolds said. "I tell (my kids) right out, if you don't want to win, don't work on your car ... If you don't maintain it, you're not going to win."
Aside from keeping their cars in good working condition, kids also learn how to maintain relationships.
"The relationships that we're building are just wonderful," said Al Borchers, the father of a two-time local soapbox racing champion. Borchers said the sport has taught his daughter the value of "friendships, working together and getting along."
Not only have the Borchers formed new friendship with other racing families; they've become close to each other.
Borchers said one of the sport's most valuable experiences occurs when "the child builds the car with the parent's help."
Green Bay teenager Liz Borchers said the sport has literally taken her great distances.
A self-professed competitive racer, Borchers has traveled as far as Akron, Ohio, to compete, where she's raced in the nationals.
This year, Borchers accomplished another goal of hers by racing in the masters class.
"The master cars are very sleek and aerodynamic," she said. "You (really) show your skills in these cars."
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