Boys and girls' prepare to start your gliding

The hill on Alder Avenue will be congested with street racing this weekend.
All the vehicles in this race, however, are powered by gravity and every driver is too young to possess a driver's licence.
From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, the street belongs to competitors in the annual Queen City & District Soapbox Club Racing Association derby.
Sid Haubrick, event co-organizer, said racers are busy this week preparing their cars for race day, greasing wheels and ensuring the steering components work as they should.
Haubrick's 12-year-old son, Lukas Haubrick, certainly is no stranger to rolling down the hill in a soapbox. He has competed with the Moose Jaw-based Queen City & District for four years.
"I just like driving and stuff. It's fun to go fast," Lukas said, adding there is a technique to winning the gravity-powered downhill race.
"You just avoid all the bumps on the road and try not to turn too much."
About 30 children are expected to participate in this year's event - nine from Moose Jaw and the rest from Saskatoon, Swift Current, Regina and Winnipeg.
Although it's too late for children to sign up with the club this year, Sid encourages youth to sign up for the 2009 season. He said getting into soapbox racing is easy.
Cars usually come as fibreglass hobby kits, although some racers still build their cars from scratch. However, those who build their own cars must obey various length and weight restrictions.
A junior car, designed for drivers age 7-11, must weigh under 93.4 kilograms (child included). A senior car, designed for drivers age 9-15, must weigh under 107 kg (child included).
Moose Jaw's Associated Canadian Travellers (ACT), a local service organization, helps sponsor the annual race.
Aside from helping out on race day, Sid said ACT owns a car, which it makes available to a child in the community who could otherwise not afford it.
Former ACT president Lyle Silzer sponsors a soapbox car as well, under the name of his trucking company Hazer Enterprises.
Silzer and Sid encourage other local companies and organizations to sponsor cars for the club. He said anyone interested can call 694-0567.
Next year, when she's old enough, Silzer hopes his granddaughter, Che-Lyn Heisler, will race with the local club. Heisler hopes so too.
"It would be fun - racing people to win," said the six-year-old Moose Javian.

Carter Haydu can be reached at 691-1265.