The Tribune

MEGEN Curry came to last summer’s inaugural Karting Summer Camp just to watch and support her sister. It wasn’t long, though, before she was drawn in by the speed, thrills and fun on display.

Now back for her second year, Megen, 19, said she still loves burning rubber on the track, but also enjoys the interesting information and important life skills participants pick up along the way.

“We are taught about what karting is, how it started, who the famous racers are,” she said. “We also learn about mechanics, art and design, public relations and marketing, how to be a financial officer. It’s all about teamwork, everyone has to get along with each other.”

Partnership

Megen is among more than 30 youngsters taking part in the two-week summer karting programme at CI Gibson off Kemp Road, thanks to a partnership between the Ministry of Education, which facilitated the use of the grounds, and Edu-karting, supported in large part by Bahamas Speed Week Revival chairman David McLaughlin, a race driver, owner and event manager for more than three decades.

“Every Formula One driver got his start in a kart,” Mr McLaughlin said. “These kids, and kids like them in karts all over the world, are the future of auto racing. The governing body of motor sport, the FIA, is very involved in encouraging girls to take an active role from an early age.”

Well before Megen - and Caden Burbridge, at eight the youngest of the karters - climbed into the little racing machines, they aligned with a team.

The first order of business was to attract sponsorship money. While they don’t actually have to raise the funds, they have to show that they could, enabling their team to “pay for” everything from uniforms to spare tyres.

“Each team has a crew chief, a PR and marketing officer, a mechanic and a financial officer,” Megen said. “The first year, I was the PR officer and had to put together a sponsorship proposal, which was successful.”

This year she has had to serve in two capacities, as crew chief for Dynasty Karting and its PR officer. “One of our teammates had to leave for a wedding so each of us had to take on two posts,” she explained.

In both years, Megen’s sponsorship proposal won first place, which like all off-track achievements, brought with it rewards – in this case, a minute shaved off their final time on race-day. The reverse also applies: tardiness or other infractions result in time additions and other penalties.

The result is that, in order to win, a team must do well on and off the track. And one of the traits that most impressed Minister of Education Jerome Fitzgerald when he observed and participated in last year’s karting sessions was the lesson of discipline and nearly perfect on-time arrival.

In the end, Dynasty Karting finished third in the camp’s first week ?despite being a driver short.

“It didn’t matter that we didn’t win, as long as we had fun,” Megen said. “Also, we are proud that we were the only team that had no penalties – we did great.”

Effort

She thanked the camp organisers, including Mr McLaughlin and Victoria Sarne, who in turn praised Megen’s effort and team spirit.

“Her written sponsorship proposal in particular was very good,” Mr McLaughlin, who has become the first representative of the Bahamas to be appointed a director of the FIA, said.

“Although one team member produces the proposal, the whole team must stand up and present it, and they must be persuasive, as we actually bring in local businesspeople to ask them difficult questions about their plan.

This week it was Christian Knowles, of Aquapure, and week two is scheduled to have Nick Winters, of Oasis Outdoor Furniture.

“At the end of the day, this isn’t really about racing. They think it is, but what we want to do is use the fun and excitement involved in karting to impart important life skills and lessons about teamwork, discipline, self-esteem, how to manage money and how to be persuasive.”