INUVIK - Not long after Katie Hicks destroyed the obstacle course in a worn-out Crown Victoria, her sister Laura stepped up to the challenge.

The pair competed in the wildly entertaining So You Think You Can Drive? event held at the Navy Road Quarry Saturday afternoon.

Laura Hicks held nothing back and took out a few course markers along the way as she attempted to manoeuvre through the So You Think You Can Drive? obstacle course on Saturday afternoon. - Andrew Rankin/NNSL photos

At top speed, participants were asked to take on challenges such as sharp turns backwards, parallel parking within a closet-sized opening and reversing down two slabs of lumber barely wider than the car's tires. The object was to achieve the shortest completion time.

Nudging any of the items lining the course, which ranged from oil barrels to hay stacks, pylons and milk crates meant an additional five seconds added to the driver's overall time. Overturning any of them meant 10 to 15 seconds tacked on, depending on the item.

But Laura, who clocked the longest time at 11 minutes and 45 seconds, about three minutes slower than Katie's feat of eight minutes and 44 seconds, didn't seem to mind. It was all in good fun.

"It was kind of scary actually, especially reversing," said Laura, who has held a driver's licence for 13 years. "It's hilarious, though, and more people should have come out to try it."

Katie couldn't agree more.

"It was great because even though I hit every pylon out there, I beat my sister by three minutes just because I was going so fast," she said with a laugh. "It was our own little playground out there."

Northwind Industries owner Kurt Wainman won the event, finishing with a time of five minutes and 13 seconds.

Wainman partnered with Kym Brisebois, the brains behind the event, to ensure its success. After watching the TV program Canada's Worst Driver a few months ago, she became inspired and focused on running a knockoff event locally.

Knowing Wainman had the gear and staff to help her along, she hit up her obliging buddy. Within two days she and a team of volunteers had assembled the course, which involved levelling the track.

Brisebois said although she was disappointed by the low number of participants in the event, she accomplished what she set out to do.

"It's all about fun, and didn't we have a good time?" she said. "People were just ripping the track apart. And it was for a good cause."

From the event's $20 registration, $400 was raised for the Inuvik Youth Centre.

Wainman is planning to include a similar event at the upcoming demolition derby, except he'll probably substitute the car with a truck.

That's great news to Brisebois.

"It's a great way to bring people together and have a lot of fun," she said. "People like these kinds of events, so it just makes sense."