SBC students put best foot forward for soapbox derby

By Christa Desrets

Published: September 5, 2008

Cheers filled Sweet Briar College’s quad Wednesday afternoon as the talk of the school rounded the corner:

A 7-foot-tall, hot pink stiletto pump.

Mounted on four wheels with two students inside, the really high heel thrilled dozens of onlookers as it made a practice run across campus.

This Saturday, the giant heel will be one of 39 soapbox racers to speed down a treacherous 17-percent-grade hill in Philadelphia known as Manayunk Wall.

“It just kind of scares you out of your wits a little bit,” said Katelyn James, who will operate the steering system. “(It’s) a bit like a roller coaster.”

More than 250 hopefuls applied to participate in the wacky soapbox contest in which outrageous designs speed down the quarter-mile course one by one. Teams are judged on the three equally weighted criteria of speed, creativity and showmanship.

A small team of Sweet Briar engineering and biology majors decided on their design after hearing the suggestion of making a cart based on a tennis shoe.

That had already been done, said team member Lauren Schwartz, but they decided to build on that idea.

“What’s more Sweet Briar than a high heel?” she said. “It’s kind of what we do, what we wear. I love high heels.”

Their cart, in fact, is modeled after a pair of pink stilettos that she owns, and plans to wear on race day.

An accompanying skit that will be performed before the race expands on the idea of Suzie Sweet Briar, “the all-around Sweet Briar girl,” Schwartz said.

“It’s not just who she is but what she wears — pearls and heels. She’s also intelligent and funny and outgoing. She can stand on her own two feet. She’s a strong, modern woman.”

Saturday, Schwartz will wear her heels with a sundress and pearls for the skit. The other four-team members will bop up and down to KC and the Sunshine Band’s “Boogie Shoes” while carrying pink and green cardboard cutouts of stilettos nearly as large as they are.

Then James and Maxine Emerich, who control the cart’s brakes, will climb aboard the shoe and put on helmets and safety belts. Team members MaryAnne Haslow-Hall and Kate Montemurro will give the giant heel a running start.

“If we do a good push-off, and Max’s timing on the brakes is just right, I think we’ll do well,” Hall said. “I feel like it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Most carts will build up speeds of more than 45 mph on the hill, according to a news release from Red Bull energy drinks, which sponsors the race.

“We plan on going a little bit slower than that,” James said. “We’re not the fastest vehicle out there for sure.”

Instead, Schwartz and Hall hope the team will garner points for creativity.

“How many people are going to ride in a high-heeled, pink stiletto shoe — or even come up with that idea?” Schwartz said.

Wednesday night, the team put the finishing touches on the cart — a

Sweet Briar logo and a horn that wolf whistles.

Tonight the team, accompanied by assistant professor of engineering Scott Pierce, will load up the cart in a donated horse trailer and head toward Philadelphia.

They have a cart safety check Friday, plus a parade in which they can strut their real stilettos.

Saturday morning starts with a public choice award. Sweet Briar’s Team P.I.N.K. (Pretty, Intelligent and Now Kicking), hopes to win votes by giving out cupcakes and miniature heels.

Then, on to the races starting at 11 a.m. Sweet Briar is car No. 23 to head down the hill.

“Our blood, sweat and tears went into this,” Schwartz said. “We’re really excited, and really nervous at the same time.”