Catterline Cartie Challenge facts for kids
The Catterline Cartie Challenge is a super fun competition held every year in a small village called Catterline, near Stonehaven, in Scotland. It's all about homemade soapbox carts, which locals call "carties"! Imagine building your own cool, speedy vehicle and racing it down a hill!
This exciting event is part of the Catterline Gala Weekend. On Saturday, all the amazing carties are shown off at the gala. Then, on Sunday, the real action begins! Each cartie races against the clock down a big hill, or "brae," from the Creel Inn all the way to the harbour.
The first Catterline Cartie Challenge happened on June 11th and 12th, 2005. Back then, 11 carties entered the race. It quickly became popular, and by 2008, there were 26 carties zooming down the hill!
The Race Course
The race course is about 1000 feet (that's 304.8 meters) long. It's a downhill ride with a drop of almost 100 feet (30.5 meters) from start to finish! Because of this steep slope, carties can reach speeds of around 30 miles per hour (about 48 km/h) by the time they cross the finish line.
To keep everyone safe, the rules say that all carties must have good brakes and steering. But other than these important safety rules, there aren't many limits on how big or what shape your cartie can be! This means you'll see all sorts of creative and unique designs. Many teams don't just focus on being the fastest; they also build really colourful and funny carties. These special carties are often the most memorable for the people watching the race!
Awesome Prizes
There are several cool prizes given out at the Catterline Cartie Challenge:
- The Connons Shield: This goes to the cartie with the single fastest run down the hill.
- Constructors Championship: This prize is for the team with the fastest total time from all their runs.
- Best Engineered: For the cartie that's built the smartest and strongest.
- Best Decorated: For the most creative and eye-catching cartie design.
- Champagne Moment: This is for a memorable or exciting moment during the race.
- Furthest Travelled: For the team that came from the farthest away to join the fun.
- Cartie Sprint: A special sprint race.
- The Great Catterline Cartie Race: Another exciting race category.
