The final race within the EURIDE project took place at Vista Park in Velenje. We are concluding the project with optimism and a desire for further collaboration with project partners.
PARTICIPATION IN THE PROJECT
Over the past two years, activities related to pedal cars have brought together eight organizations from seven countries: Italy, France, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Turkey, and Slovenia. In 2022, municipalities, high schools, a federation of pedal car clubs, and sports institutions joined forces in the EURIDE project. In Croatia, Slovenia, and Portugal, activities related to pedal cars were previously unfamiliar to us; we only became acquainted with them through the EURIDE project. On the other hand, the EURIDE project involves the French Federation of Pedal Cars, which has over 40 years of experience, a technical high school from Holice, and the municipality of Faenza. All three organizations have extensive experience in manufacturing pedal cars and organizing pedal car races.
HISTORY
It all began in France in the early 1980s. At that time, pedal boat competitions, popular for water racing, were thriving. In 1982, the idea emerged to shift this activity from water to land – to the town of Vimoutiers. This led to the founding of the French Federation of Pedal Cars on April 7, 1982, along with the construction of a pedal car. Shortly after, the organization of the first race commenced on June 26, 1982. By 2015, France boasted two thousand pedal cars.
In the year 2000, the first international race took place in France, with Italians also participating. Three years later, the municipality of Faenza organized the first race on home soil. In Italy, pedal car manufacturing is overseen by students from technical high schools, while race organization falls under the purview of the Faenza municipality, which also serves as the coordinator of the EURIDE project. Similarly, in the Czech Republic, as in Italy, pedal car production is managed by students from the technical high school in Holice.
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ACTIVITY IN SLOVENIA
The EURIDE project connected us – those with experience and those without. In Slovenia, we immediately saw an opportunity to become part of this story ourselves, so in collaboration with the Ravne High School and the Velenje School Center, we managed to manufacture three pedal cars in just one year. Together with teachers and students from the schools who built the pedal cars, we participated in three races abroad. With the project partners, we also created a manual for organizing pedal car races, a manual for manufacturing pedal cars, and a video tutorial for making pedal cars.
THE RACE IN VELENJE
At Zavod APGA, with the help of Boštjan Hribar and Boštjan Knez, and students volunteers from the School of Mechanical Engineering, Geotechnology and Environment, we organized the final race within the EURIDE project. The final race of this project took place on Saturday, April 20, 2024, at Vista Park in Velenje. By ten o’clock, all teams had arrived and set up and decorated their tents. The weather looked promising – cold but sunny. However, at noon, a strong gust of wind blew, even blowing away some lunches. Despite the strong wind and unpredictable weather, we continued with the program. At 2 p.m., all teams presented themselves: Officina Mobile, Car Onte, Skyline, Ferrari, Gli Antenati, and Retro from Italy. Spiderman, Pumba, and Witch from France. Monty Car, a Cow, and Bee Maja from the Czech Republic, and King Matjaž’s carriage and Cole mine vehicle from Slovenia. The audience had the task of rating the presentations from 1 to 10, as creativity in this activity is just as important as speed. After the presentations, Deputy Mayor Janez Melanšek waved the starting flag, and the ninety-minute race began.
Vista Park offers a wonderful viewpoint from the park’s roof, where spectators could watch the entire race. Those who wanted to get closer to the action found space on the benches along the racetrack. The race proceeded smoothly and without any major accidents. This was followed by the trophy presentation. The fastest in the race was the driver of the Spiderman car, while the most creative presentation was by the Retro team. The Witch team secured second place in both creativity and speed, thus winning in the overall standings.
After dinner, a swing dance evening followed, and it was really hard to say goodbye, as this was the last race within the EURIDE project which has been connecting us for the past two years.
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