Kinsmen Coaster Classic information

The Kinsmen Coaster Classic, also named the All Canada or All-Canadian Coaster Classic, was a youth-oriented soap box race car program that took place in the City of Montreal, Canada from 1938 until the early 1970s. Organized by the Kinsmen Club of Montreal, it was the first city-wide soap box race to be held in the municipality. Cars competing in the event raced downhill, propelled by gravity alone. Competing in two separate classes, boys raced hand-made cars on various streets throughout the city until a permanent site was chosen in Montreal's east end.

The American Soap Box Derby was inaugurated in 1934, making Montreal one of Canada's earliest entries into the sport just four years later, as well as one of the first non-US entries worldwide. Rules for the race followed those of its US counterpart, with eligibility for boys set at ages 9–15, and a car construction allowance of no more than ten dollars in its inaugural year. Like in the US, boys were expected to build their own cars with as little assistance as possible from a senior mentor. Competitors from anywhere in Canada were welcomed to attend.

A winner of the Kinsmen Coaster Classic was awarded the Henry Birks Trophy and a brand new bicycle, with a second bicycle being awarded to the runner-up. In addition to the fastest car prizes, awards were handed out for Best Looking and Best Constructed cars. Although styled like the Soap Box Derby, the race was not affiliated with nor was it a registered franchise of the American Soap Box Derby organization^[a] in Akron, OH, and therefore could not use their trademarked name nor refer to itself officially as the Montreal or Kinsmen 'Soap Box Derby', instead using the title 'Kinsmen Coaster Classic.' It did not send its champions to compete at the All-American World Championship in Akron.

In the Seventies public interest in the Soap Box Derby began to fade, brought on by an unforeseen loss of its national sponsor and a cheating scandal that damaged its credibility as a trusted American institution. At the same time the Kinsmen Coaster Classic lost its race venue in 1973 when the street it had used for twenty years was redeveloped for construction of Montreal's Olympic Park in preparation for the 1976 Summer Olympics.

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