In the spirit of reviving one of the country's oldest sporting disciplines, the 'Edukarting' program is offering local youth the chance to learn about what it takes to have a career in motor sports, while offering development opportunities outside of the athletic arena as well.
The 'Edukarting' Summer Camp Kart Club is a one-week program taught by industry professionals to encourage a love of motor sports, team building and an introduction to associated disciplines with future marketable skills including media studies, marketing, creativity, automotive repairs, mechanics and business and financial skills.
The first session will be held August 3-7, while the second one will take place August 10-14. Both sessions will run from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at C.I. Gibson High School. The camp is open to all kids ages 13-17 and there is a fee of $25 per week. The fee includes helmets, overalls and other teaching materials. Parental permission must be given for every child participating.
The program was introduced in public schools back in 2013 as a summer camp. Four of the schools with automotive programs still continue to host after school karting clubs.
NACAM-FIA director for the Caribbean region David McLaughlin said that he thinks the camp is a great way for high school kids to get into the automotive field, while learning life skills that can help them prosper off the track.
"Edukarting simply mixes education with karting. What we do is, we form teams for the kids and they have to come up with a name, and a logo for the team. They also have to come up with a budget, because we give them virtual money to spend on things likes tires and gas, all of which that we have supplied," said McLaughlin, who also served on the board for all the editions of the Bahamas Speed Week.
"They also have to produce a sponsorship pitch, and that's not easy to do for kids that have never had that kind of training. A lot start with very little confidence, much less when it came to asking for money. But we have some real life sponsors coming along. All of the elements of the race team basically come together to form a small business."
Sisters Megan and Maya Curry will serve as instructors at the week-long program. Both attended the camp in the past and are currently still active kart racers.
Maya said: "I use to be in auto mechanics and one of my teachers asked me if I wanted to join and I gladly accepted the offer. One of the main things that this program teaches you is how to work as a team and how to relate to others. You learn things not only in mechanics, but also in speaking, finding sponsors, teamwork and various things business related. So this program has been a great help to a lot of kids over the years."
Megan added: I have been into the sport about four years. It taught me a lot of skills that I never had before, and especially for females, it really lets you know that you can go out and do anything that a man can do. The kids participating can expect to learn a lot of things in the span of a week."
For more information on the camp, interested persons are asked to contact McLaughlin by email at david@forecgrandprix.co.uk.
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