IUSF halts Mini 500 race tradition

After nearly a half century of races, the historical Mini 500 is just that -- history. A decline in competition and spectator interest as well as worn-down tricycles forced the IU Student Foundation to nix the event, director Jonathan Purvis said.\nThe Mini 500, which celebrated its 48th running last year, was initially established to give women the opportunity to be a part of Little 500 weekend and later expanded to include both men's and women's divisions. In the late 1970s and early 1980s the race drew crowds of over 10,000. But, since the inclusion of a women's Little 500, interest and competition in the Mini 500 has gone down hill. \n"At its high point, the nature of the event was extremely competitive before the women's Little 500," Purvis said. "But, with the advent of the women's race, the competition level went down. First, it was a fun part of the weekend, but then (switched) to an at times unsafe and certainly not sober weekend, which is not the image IUSF wants to present."\nAfter the establishment of the women's Little 500, the Mini 500 adopted a more jovial atmosphere, complete with costume contests, themed teams and the awarding of the Little 500 King and Queen. \nPurvis said the King and Queen would still be awarded, probably during the Little Fifty, a new 50-lap relay running race set to debut this year. Purvis also said IUSF is in the process of planning to commemorate the Mini 500 at a ceremony prior to the Little 500. \nSenior Dan Moore, whose team Small Pickles Among Large Cucumber competed in the Mini 500 last year, said he was shocked and dismayed by the announcement.\n"I can't believe it's cancelled," Moore said. "It's a cross between disbelief and disappointment right now. I had so much fun last year, and I'd been looking forward to doing it again."\nAlthough IUSF made the ultimate decision, Purvis said input was gleaned from a number of sources, including the 25-member student Steering Committee. Senior and Steering Committee member Marisa Indelicato said she supported the decision.\n"It was a tough decision, but I think it was for the betterment of the race," Indelicato said. "As much as we hate to see it go, the negatives outweighed the positives."\nIndelicato said she is hopeful the new Little Fifty race will fill in for the loss of the Mini 500. She added that IUSF is developing pre-race rituals along the same lines but not as intense as the Mini 500.\n"One of the things we're developing is a pre-race agenda," Indelicato said. "It's our own tradition and we know what we like at sporting events. We have a great group of committee members that will implement ideas that will bring people in. I don't know if we'd go to the extreme of costumes, but a lot more music and anything to get people to come up."\nFor Moore, however, the Mini 500 will be hard to replace. \n"It was really nice for people who weren't athletic or didn't have the time to train for Little 5," he said. "It'd been here as long as I'd been here and long before that. It's something you didn't see anywhere else."\nFor students interested in the Little Fifty, there is a call-out meeting tonight at 8 p.m. in BU 219.