Junker car rally raises money for a good cause
By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on September 14, 2023.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com A local group of car enthusiasts with a soft spot for beater cars, took part in a challenge recently that gave them the opportunity to showcase their creativity and resourcefulness, while collecting funds for a local charity.With the help of members from the Lethbridge Sports Car Club, local resident Peter Brook has been organizing the Great Beater Challenge since 2016, giving members of the community and beyond a chance to take a trip in a beater car for a good cause.
“Essentially it’s an event where people have a budget of $700 to buy a car, fix it up and modify it for the event, just not including safety items of course, so they’re allowed to spend more on the tires, brakes and stuff to make sure the car is safe, but essentially they’ll be taking old crappy cars and running them on a two-day road trip on a weekend,” said Brook.
He said they have been to multiple locations in the eight years the challenge has taken place, with this year’s route going from Fort Macleod to Ainsworth Hot Springs in British Columbia with an overnight stay at the Toad Rock Motorcycle campground on Aug. 26 and 27.
“We’ve gone out to B.C., we’ve gone to Saskatchewan, northern Alberta, all over the place,” said Brook.
 He said the trip usually takes up the whole weekend with one day driving to a campsite, spending the night and then driving back through a different route.
 When it comes to what people can expect to win, he said there are multiple categories where they have a chance to do so.
 “Teams are rewarded for their creativity, they get points along the way, as well as for finding things in a scavenger hunt, they get bonus points for sleeping in their vehicle, points for all sorts of things that would make their life more uncomfortable. Basically, the more uncomfortable and the worse their vehicle is, the more points they get,” said Brook.
 He said the more adventurous they are, the more chances they have to win while they suffer for the greater good and have some fun along the way.
 “We collect entrance fees from the event, and after the event is over all of the proceeds from it we donate them to a local charity. This year we selected the Canadian Red Cross and we raised $2,271 for them,” said Brook.
Brook said he has seen his fair share of outrageous vehicles and costumes through the years, and the event continues to grow.
“We started with eight teams in 2016 and now this year we had 47 teams, we’ve grown a lot since we started it,” said Brook.
One of the vehicles that took part of the challenge this year was driven by local resident 16-year-old Gemma Humphreys and her friend, after painting it pink and sparkly and decorating it with barbies and a pink stiletto on the trunk.
Gemma’s father, Jason Humphreys, spoke to the Herald on Wednesday and said his daughter’s team was one of the youngest teams ever taking part of the challenge.
“She went out and bought the paint, went to the dollar store and bought some barbies and lot of sparkles, and away they went on the challenge. It was very different for them because Peter gives a route book that tells you where you need to go and directions, but a lot of the time being young they were trying to read their phone to the final destination, so they kept going off course and we had to call them back,” said Humphreys.
While Humphreys’ daughter was paying tribute to Barbie with her car, Brook drove a car that was part of a beloved television show, which has been part of his family for many years after the show ended.
“My sister and brother-in-law worked on the Corner Gas show and movie, and when they close down and they sold off all the assets from it, they bought this car which was actually used during the show as the character Wanda’s car,” said Brook. Follow @APulidoHerald on Twitter 4
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