RNLI chosen as principal charity for The Yorkshire Coast Super Soapbox Challenge

The course will see soapbox carts, combine gravity with nerves of steel from the drivers, as they hurtle down Ravine Road, cornering next to the RNLI Filey Lifeboat Station on Coble Landing, before racing to the finish line on the seafront.

This will be a thrilling and fun spectacle with huge screens at the top and bottom of Ravine Road so spectators won’t miss any of the free to watch action, including up-to-the-minute

commentary, the latest scores and much more.

As well as the racing, there will a funfair, live music and plenty of food and drink stands.

Ben Black, Fundraising and Partnerships Lead, North and East Region, RNLI said: “We are so excited that The Super Soapbox Challenge is coming to Filey.

"It is a great chance for friends and family to come together and enjoy everything that Filey and this event has to offer.

"We are equally as thankful to the organisers for selecting Filey RNLI as their chosen charity for this event.

"We are the charity that saves lives at sea and the money raised from this event will help fund our lifesaving service right here in Filey.”

Teams of five people are required to take part in the event. Four team members must be 16 years old or over and the fifth person, who will be the driver of the soapbox, must be 21

years old or above.

Fun and themed soapboxes are encouraged and there will be seven prizes available to the winners of the various categories as well as medals for all entrants.

Adventurous types who want to have a go at building a winning soapbox and enter a team to take part in the event can register online at supersoapboxchallenge.co.uk/filey

Andrew Pearson, The Super Soapbox Challenge Company Event Marketing Director, said: “Even though the event was only launched last week, the uptake of entries so far has been fantastic so we expect the day to be very well attended.

"In our experience, a well-known and respected charity like the RNLI will benefit greatly from being an official charity as we would hope that spectators will make a donation of some sort, with this being a free community event.”

Ever mindful of the importance of the RNLI’s work, the course has been designed so that, should there be an emergency, the course can be cleared in minutes if there’s a need for the crews to get to their station.

Cllr Jim Grieve, Scarborough Borough Council Cabinet Member for Quality of Life said: “Getting the Super Soapbox Challenge is a real coup for Filey and will be a fantastic event

not to be missed.

"Anyone who has seen similar soapbox challenges on the television before or attended a live event in the past, will know how popular this type of racing is.

"It really does bring local communities together and attracts people from further afield who are then likely to explore and spend money in the host town during their visit.”

Cllr Jacqui Houlden-Banks, Mayor of Filey, said: “Filey is delighted to welcome The Super Soapbox Challenge to our beautiful town on September 5 and we hope it will become a yearly event. To be hosting the first event of its kind on the east coast, using our natural ravine as a racecourse, ending with a beach finish, is very exciting.”