Ramblin’ with… Speedworld

St. Vital

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/05/2023 (1070 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Speedworld Indoor Kart Track first caught my attention with its radio ads.

I really enjoy their slogan: “It’s not like racing…it is racing!”

Anyhow I sent my blurb to Speedworld and received an answer from Briget.

After exchanging a couple of emails, we decided to proceed so here we go…hang on…

Weldon: First, I noticed Mark Sawatsky’s name as the registered email address holder. Are you and Mark related and, if so, is Speedworld a family affair?

Briget: “Mark and I met in early 2003 and on our first date we drove a kart around a parking lot! We opened the track in the fall of 2004 (Mark had already been planning things for a few years). The track will be celebrating 20 years next year, and we’ll have been married for 18 of them!”

Weldon: How many employees work at Speedworld?

Briget: “The number of employees fluctuates from 12 to 18, depending on the number of full versus part-time staff. We have a full-time mechanic and a couple of full-time staff right now, but most of our staff are in college or university and prefer a flexible part-time schedule. I work full-time in the business as well.”

Weldon: The COVID-19 pandemic must have had a drastic affect on a public entity that requires close interactions. However, you’ve survived, fortunately, and hopefully business is full speed ahead again.

Briget: “Like all amusement or recreational businesses, we really bore the brunt of the COVID lockdowns. We were mandated to be closed for over 200 days between 2000 and 2002 – not including the times we had capacity restrictions. Unfortunately, it did involve some layoffs, but we were thankful to have retained our staff for when we re-opened. It was a bit of a gradual re-growth after being closed — almost like starting from scratch… but things now are in full swing again we are forever grateful for the community’s support.”

Weldon: Your information page says you’ve been operating since 2004. Have you always been in the same location? Any expansion plans? And do you have anything else you want to add?

“We have been located at 575 Berry St. since 2004. We have some big plans for the future but hope to stay in the St. James area that we have called home for nearly 20 year. I can’t say too much about our plans at this time because they go up and down (that may be a hint *wink*) but we hope to continue to provide an adrenaline fix for many exciting years to come.”

Speedworld can be found online at www.speedworld.ca