The Timaru Herald 20 Nov 2017 ELENA MCPHEE
Timaru’s first street soapbox derby since the 1980s went well on Sunday - though not without a few bumps and scratches.
Hundreds of people were out in central Timaru cheering their teams on as they sped down George St.
Anything with wheels could be entered in the race, and organiser Felicity Bruce said the event had raised more than $4000 for men’s health campaign Movember.
In the morning the junior contestants broke in the course, and the adult teams arrived to race in the afternoon.
Awards for winners in each category were given out, but there were also awards for best team spirit, best dressed, and a ‘‘gentleman’s award’’ and ‘‘mo sistas award’’ for sportsmanship.
Bruce was organising the event along with Richard Brown, who was holding the event for Movember in memory of his brother.
‘‘Gee Off and The Toilet Brushes’’ won the open section, with Shannon Sim driving a converted shopping trolley.
KBA Racing was the junior winner, and many other prizes were given throughout the day, Bruce said.
One team, the ‘‘Bathing Beaut- ies’’ raced in a converted bathtub - complete with a rubber duck that unfortunately went flying first time down the three jumps on the hill - and ‘‘The Overtakers’’ raced in a coffin converted into a cart, complete with skeleton decorations and Grim Reaper costumes.
‘‘Team B’’ driver Helen Beveridge was cheered on by spectators when she stood up and gave the crowd a wave after coming off her cart.
The day was ‘‘awesome’’ but she was unprepared for the jumps, she said. ‘‘It didn’t last five minutes.’’
An Overtakers member said it was ‘‘great to see so many people’’ out to watch the ‘‘fantastic’’ event. There were 48 entries in total. The event was 18 months in the planning, with extensive health and safety plans in place, Bruce said.
Timaru Rocks had a Movember art installation in the form of a moustache made of painted rocks people had created, which was on show in the morning.
Entries had come from schools, day care centres and rest homes.
When it came to men’s health, ‘‘rocking’’ or going out and collecting rocks, painting them, and hiding them for others to find was a good way to get out and move, Timaru Rocks administrator Roselyn Fauth said.