'These kids are super': Racers with special needs speed down Soap Box Derby hill

For Dylan Swanson, a 15-year-old from New York, it's pretty great to win — and he's used to it. In 2018, he became the youngest national champion of the Super Kids race at the All-American Soap Box Derby, a competition for kids with special needs.

"It's fun going down the hill," Dylan said.

Dylan began racing in Super Kids locally and later in the national competition in Akron with his 17-year-old brother, Ryan, and his 8-year-old sister, Marissa. The trio competed in this year's Super Kids national race Friday, which brought in 36 qualifying kids with special needs from around the world to Derby Downs in Akron. The kids ride in the car with a seasoned racer.

The top six racers will compete around 10:30 a.m. during the All-American Soap Box Derby World Championships Saturday. The qualifiers are: Ethan Auwerda, Tristain Knight-Dennison, Kaiden Hankins, Justin Roda, Marissa Swanson and Esther Weekley.

"It's teaching them a lot about how to win, how to lose, and it's also teaching them how to follow directions," Jamie Swanson, Dylan's mom, said. 'It's also teaching them not just the skill of life, but also it's encouraging to strive for success, like, you could do anything if you put your mind to it."

Before Friday's races began, a parade opened the festivities. Participants from Ohio Miss Amazing, a chapter of the Miss Amazing program that works to build self-esteem in girls and women with disabilities, walked in the parade and got to ride in a car down the incline track.

Abigail Speer, 2022 Ohio Miss Amazing Teen Queen, came down the hill with a huge smile on her face and her hands up in the air.

"She gets to participate in different parades and things, and there's also the friendships we've made," mom Kathy Speer said. "She has wonderful friendships. The parents form a community of support and friendship and sharing resources."

The history of the Super Kids Classic

Back in 1980 at a local Soap Box Derby in Akron, a child in a wheelchair came up to volunteer Dave Mitan and asked, "Why can't I do that?" The kid attended the event with his brother who was able to race.

Mitan, a Vietnam veteran giving back to the community with his chapter through the derby, then went to the All-American Soap Box Derby representatives with his chapter. In 1981, the first Super Kids race was held in Akron at Derby Downs, and then local Super Kids races began popping up in different states.

In 2003, the race came to the national level for the All-American Soap Box Derby.

"We call it Super Kids because these kids are super," said Race Director Bruce Hunsicker, a Vietnam veteran who has been involved with the derby for 64 years. "Why can't a kid that doesn't have legs, is blind or has other special needs, why can't they experience the thrill of the hill, too?"

Reporter Isabella Schreck can be contacted at ischreck@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: 'These kids are super': Racers with special needs speed down Soap Box Derby hill