SoapBox Challenge

‘Soapbox cars' were historically made from wooden soap crates, hence the name, but materials have become more varied since the first publicly recorded Soapbox race in 1904!

Novelty prizes will also be awarded to competitors such as the Best Soapbox Design and Best Team Costume.

• Businesses
• Charities/community groups
• Individuals/friends/families and Under 12's

In true champion style, there will be an outdoor podium on the day to present awards to winners at 4pm at Accrington and Rossendale College. The overall winner on the day will choose a registered charity for 50% of the fees to be donated to.

Sponsors, Emerson and Renwick Ltd, are this year celebrating 100 years in business - they established in 1918 as a Manufacturer of Textile Finishing Machinery. 2017 saw Emerson and Renwick becoming Hyndburn Business Award winners for Large Business of the Year; seeing the company being recognised as one of the most successful and sustainable in the borough.

"We are proud to support the community and the borough by giving something back. This event will bring a lot of fun and something different to the town. We are looking forward to seeing all of the soapboxes entered and watching people rally together. We expect this event to create a lot of excitement and we definitely encourage people to enter the challenge. As a local company we are really proud of #AmazingAccrington and we want to be a part of things that happen within the community, so it only seemed right to sponsor the first ever (of many I'm guessing) annual Soapbox Challenge."

Managing director, Murray Dawson, commented: "We're really excited about this. It will appeal to all of the family and entice those with a need for speed in to the town. #AmazingAccrington is about sharing what the town and our engineering and manufacturing prowess can do.

The Soapbox Challenge is £100 to enter per team for businesses and £25 to enter per team for community groups, charities, friends, families, individuals and under 12's. 50% of the entry fees will be donated to the winner's chosen registered charity. Anyone wishing to partake in the Soapbox Challenge can find out more information visiting www.amazingaccrington.co.uk