Rockton World’s Fair draws young demolition derby champs

The 173rd annual Rockton World’s Fair kicked off this week, and while the usual attractions like the midway, carnival food, and horse shows are guaranteed to impress, something a little more dangerous draws serious attention.

Ava Patton is only 14, but she’s a demolition derby veteran.

“I did my first ever derby in America at 11, because in America you only have to be 10,” she says.

She says she got her love of smashing into other cars from her dad.

“My dad has been doing derbies since he was my age, and he’s the only reason why I’m in demolition derbies.”

While Ava has crashed dozens of derby cars, this will be her first time driving at the Rockton World’s Fair in her hometown.

“I’m a little more nervous because I have more people to impress, but it’ll be good,” says Patton.

But she won’t be alone out there. Seventeen-year-old Cara Rivers and her family came all the way from Nova Scotia for the demolition derby.

“There’s a lot of excitement,” Rivers says.

“Happy, scary, people are ramming into you all the time… you can’t get emotional. [You need a] clear head so you can hit people and have more fun.”

Her 14-year-old sister Chayla is doing her first ever demolition derby, and described her excitement level as “probably really high.”

“I’m pretty scared,” she said.

“But it’s also going to be really fun.”

“It pulls on your heartstrings to see the girls follow in your footsteps,” says proud father Chris Rivers.

The girls have three races each, which means they have a total of nine cars that they can absolutely destroy.

“We build the cars pretty safe,” Dave Patton, Ava’s dad said.

“They have helmets and knee pads, and it’s on dirt so the impacts aren’t as they would be on the street on asphalt. It’s not too bad.”

The Patton and Rivers families have been connected through demolition derbies for decades, and the parents couldn’t be more proud.

“It’s fun, gets her out of the house, it’s a good bonding thing, good knowledge for her changing suspension parts and taking out interiors,” Patton says.

“This is a demolition family,” Rivers said.

“Dave is my brother, but we didn’t meet until high school and we haven’t been separated since.”

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