It’s Brooklyn’s Iditarod!
Kings County Cub and Boy scouts strapped themselves to harnesses and pulled hand-made sleighs — not unlike Alaska’s iconic Iditarod dog-sled race — across Coney Island’s beach for the organization’s annual Klondike Derby competition on Feb. 6. The young makers’ sleds showed great craftsmanship, but at the end of the day, winning the race came down to good old-fashioned kid power, according to the winning pack’s cub master.
“I guess our boys were just faster this year,” said Anthony Seal, cub master of Pack 933, which won the race in its bracket and took home overall first prize among cub scout teams. “It’s mostly a test of strength and speed.”
Each cub pack (that’s ages 5–11) and Boy Scout troop (11–18) entered the event with its own handcrafted sleigh, he said. Six kids pulled, one pushed, and one lucky scout rode the sled, according to Seal.
But the race wasn’t the only challenge waiting for the kids — organizers with Boy Scouts of America arranged a slew of competitive tasks for the young adventurers.
Boy Scouts competed in trials testing first-aid, water-rescue, knot-tying, and shelter-construction skills, according to Boy Scouts of America Breukelen District activities chairman Milton Davis. Their junior counterparts had it a little easier, and competed in a harpoon toss, a penguin walk, and memory tests, he said.
