by Rebecca Hannant
Hundreds of spectators turned out to watch Hornsea’s inaugural soapbox derby on Saturday.
The race was organised by the Hornsea Carnival committee to raise funds towards the annual summer event.
Crowds gathered to witness the creativity and comedy provided by the participants, from lobster-themed carts to a depiction of Mario Kart.
Based on the scoring system, which included points awarded for style and creativity, time of run as well as comedy, the winners were the creators of It’s a Bug’s Life. In second place were the WI, and the Wackiest Racers came third.
The winners of the Most Creative Kart award were the Long Beach Lobsters.
The fastest cart was Spencer’s Spanners, clocking a run of only 20.04 seconds and reaching speeds of 24 miles an hour.
Hornsea Carnival chairman Iain Poole said: “So, the dust has settled, the streets have been cleaned and the Hornsea Carnival committee are taking stock over what was a truly brilliant, albeit a little wet, couple of days, at the inaugural soapbox derby 2023.
“Even though we only had 13 competitors we had 13 of the very best soapboxers we could have hoped for.
“Their energy was electric, and I could not have asked for a more amazing bunch of people who put themselves out there with performances, engineering and a positive Yorkshire can-do attitude.
“During those few hours when Hornsea got to experience the thrills and spills of the soapbox derby, we had crowds of excited children and adults alike all taking part and raising funds for various charities as well as Hornsea Carnival.”
Throughout the weekend, the committee was also supported by traders across Hornsea who helped to raise money for the carnival and their own causes.
Iain added: “We had the pleasure of working with some amazing traders. Special mention to Woods of Hornsea, New Beginnings Hair Studio and Annie Plant Hire for their support – it was invaluable.”
The committee hopes to repeat the event next year and is looking for sponsors to help them make it even bigger and better.
Iain said: “With every new event you will have lessons learned and look at how you can do things differently.
“The team put in over 200 hours before the event, with more than 20 miles walked over the two days by each team member. Some 300 metres of barriers and over 200 straw bales were set out and cleaned away in the space of a few hours.
“We’d also like to give a shout out to Paul Garbutt from Race the Waves, bringing flags, banners and a speed gun. He and Mike were invaluable on the day.”
