Thank you to all who joined us by participating, watching, volunteering and most of all donating to make the 2008 Canary Derby a huge success! The third annual Canary Derby continues to expand. This year's hot new Event-the Canary Cancer Bash and DJ Spin-off at the Strathcona Hotel's Clubhouse and Elements Nightclubs raised over $12,000 towards the 2008 Canary Derby total.

At the Canary Derby the Vancouver Island Technology Community joined forces with the Canary Foundation and BC Cancer Foundation to help support early detection research.

Spectators and competitors gathered under fairly sunny skies on June 14 to watch fourteen teams race their cars in the 3rd Annual Canary Derby and enjoy the food and activities during the community picnic. These teams are getting their car design and strategies down to a fine art. The GenoLogics car won the Canary Style category, but in the end it was the Schneider Electric aerodynamically designed car cruising to the finish line at 51 km/h that posted the winning time of 68.16 seconds.

As with past years the race wasn't just about the fastest car though. Everyone was working hard to raise the funds needed to purchase equipment for Dr. Brad Nelson's Canary Project lab at BC Cancer Agency's Trev & Joyce Deeley Research Centre in Victoria, BC. This equipment will further improvements in the efficiency of assay development, in addition to the gains made through last year's derby, which also raised funds for valuable cost- and time-saving equipment. Dr. Nelson's Canary Project team has recently added two new employees and now comprises six full-time staff dedicated to developing blood tests to measure novel candidate biomarkers for ovarian, prostate, pancreatic, and lung cancers.

GenoLogics took home the largest trophy of the day when their team placed first in the fundraising category by raising a whopping $20,044CAN. Well almost the largest trophy. Evidently derby organizers saved a remnant of Aspreva's 2006 derby car wreck and created the Bent Wheel Trophy for the team spirit and sportsmanship, Caorda Solutions was the distinguished recipient this year. Everyone gave one last cheer at the end of the day as the final total of $140,000 was posted on the board.

Our Goals

• To be the largest fundraising activity on Vancouver Island for BC Cancer Foundation.
• To raise awareness of the Canary Foundation and BC Cancer Foundation, and catalyze the work of early detection and intervention of cancer within British Columbia.
• To foster a sense of community development within the Vancouver Island Technology community.
• To provide a family fun day for technology community employees and their families.
• 30 Cars for the 2008 event

View pictures from past events! »

Corporate Sponsorship

Event sponsorship is being coordinated by BC Cancer Foundation. Click here for more information on sponsorship packages.

Make a Donation

Quick Facts about the 2007 Derby:

• The technology community raised $120,000 dollars in 2007
• Funds raised through the Canary Derby 2007 helped to purchase the Biacore X100 which will enable our research team to develop immunoassays at a greatly accelerated pace. Currently, it can take from several weeks to months to identify pairs of antibodies that work well together in an immunoassay. Biacore technology reduces or eliminates the need to scale-up, purify and label antibodies, such that the process can be accomplished in a matter of days. This frees up valuable research time and greatly enhances throughput.
  
  Time and throughput are critical to the success of the project, since the Canary team may need to evaluate tens or even hundreds of blood markers before finding a combination that accurately detects cancer.
• The Canary Derby event and family picnic drew over 900 people Click here to: View the Team Awards and Race Results!
• Event History of Canary Derby

Quick Facts about the 2006 Derby:

• The technology community raised $47,000 dollars in 2006
• The Canary Derby event and family picnic drew over 500 people
• Carmanah Technologies won the fundraising challenge bringing in $8,100, with GenoLogics and Aspreva placing 2nd and 3rd respectively.