Speed demons

To keep racing in the family, Jim Malo asked his 11-year-old-niece to sit behind the driver’s seat for the first time at an annual soap box race.

Michaela Kunnas, 11, never drove in the George Jeffrey Children’s Centre Soap Box Races before. Starting on Saturday, the annual event held near Waverley Park had 21 racers roll down the hill over the weekend.

Michaela said she felt nervous when she first got behind the wheel and found it difficulty keeping the car from drifting too much. After a few more practice runs, she mastered handling the car enough to compete in the races.

"I felt more confident today going into the races," Michaela said. "It’s really fun and you get to meet new people."

Michaela said she often participated in charity events, such as the walk for arthritis last weekend, and was glad to help support the children’s centre.

Malo helped build the car used by Michaela in 2004. He said the car fits a certain size and the previous driver grew out of it. He wanted to continue racing for the children’s centre so, he asked Michaela to be one of the drivers.

"Racing is a family thing," Malo said. "We’ve entered the car every year and we had to find some substitutes this year. So my nephew Cole and Michaela are the right size so I kind of volunteered them."

Mary Anne Comuzzi, director of development for the George Jeffrey Children’s Foundation, said that this year the race raised about $30,000 for the children’s centre with the money raised going towards equipment and therapy treatment.

"We have well over 1,000 children at the centre and we still have a waiting list," Comuzzi said. "The need for services is great. The children centre allows families to get treatment done in Thunder Bay."

Comuzzi said some special needs children went down the hill in custom-made cars. She said it’s important treat those children like everyone else.

"There are no barriers for them," she said. "We treat them the same as everyone else. They have a car they can go in and just experience the race just like the other kids that are going down. They shouldn’t have any barriers."

Comuzzi said the racing results would not be available until sometime after 4 p.m.