Park City Municipal Corp. had an idea of what local residents could do with their leftover cardboard boxes.
They could upcycle them by making them into sleds for the upcoming Cardboard Sled Derby that will run on Saturday, March 4, said Recreation Coordinator Lauren Wall.
“The only thing we required as far as construction of the sleds goes is that people use cardboard, duct tape, glue, string or twine and paint,” she said. “We want people to let their creativity fly and come up with all kinds of ideas.”
Race sign-in will begin at 11 a.m., and the races are scheduled to start around noon on the sledding hill, located next to the soccer field at the Park City Ice Arena and Sports Complex, according to Wall.
“This has been a great snow year, and we are working with Mountain Trails to groom the hill,” she said.
During check-in, racers will sign waivers, and officials will inspect the sleds to make sure everything is safe, Wall said.
“The only other requirement is that all participants wear helmets,” she said.
Races are divided into three divisions — youths ages 5-10, youths ages 11-15 and adults ages 16 and older, Wall said.
“We’re not 100% sure how long the races will be, but we are going to run three sleds at a time, and we’ll have two heats,” she said. “So everyone is guaranteed to race in two heats during the day.”
Of course, there will be prizes, Wall said.
“We’ll have a panel of judges who will award Best in Show for first, second and third place,” she said. “That will include sleds, costumes and overall presentation. We do hope people show up in costumes.”
Awards will also be handed out for Best Wipeout and a Judges’ Choice, Wall said.
“Judges’ Choice will cover sportsmanship, team spirit or whatever the judges want to spotlight,” she said. “We’ll also award prizes for the sled that goes the furthest in each division.”
The idea to host the Cardboard Sled Derby came from a brainstorming session earlier this year, Wall said.
“We usually run a cardboard boat race in the lap pool during the summer, and so, when we were thinking about different events we could potentially hold during the winter, we kind of stumbled upon this idea,” she said. “It has gotten a lot of traction, and we have many teams who have signed up. We have 47 teams registered.”
Participants and spectators are encouraged to utilize the parking lots by the turf field, the playground or dog park, Wall said.
“We don’t want to take over the Ice Arena lot, so we’re asking teams and spectators to utilize the other lots located at Quinn’s Junction and walk over to the hill,” she said.
Park City’s goal is to make the Cardboard Sled Derby an annual event, Wall said.
“Since this is our first year doing this, we’re not sure what we’ll see,” she said. “Depending on how the snow looks next year, we would love to do this again, because I think this can be a fun day to get the community out tougher.”