University of Calgary
Toboggan
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Night of the Living Sled riders (L-R): Taylor Brown, Graham Forsyth, Maureen Saunders, Ashley Lancaster and Robert Clarke. / Photo: Ray PengToboggan team scoops up awardsIt was the Night of the Living Sled.That’s the name of the monster toboggan that Schulich School of Engineering students crafted out of concrete. It won four awards—plus second place overall—in the 2010 Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race (GNCTR). The 36th annual competition was hosted by McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. Competing against 19 other teams from post-secondary institutions across Canada, the U of C won awards for best concrete mix design, best concrete reinforcing design, King of the Hill for being the last toboggan to emerge unscathed from a series of one-on-one races, and a cash prize of $2,000 for best use of fly-ash (recycled materials) in concrete. The U of C earned second place overall, with the University of Alberta earning the top spot and Université de Sherbrooke coming in third. “Together, U of C and U of A won nearly half of all the awards,” says Guillermo Guglietti, project co-manager. “These were the best results for our province at GNCTR in the last 15 years.” 
The U of C team after their entry was declared King of the Hill. / Photo: Danuta WojtowiczProject co-manager Rob Lukacs said that what the students learned in their courses helped them design a sustainable, high-performance concrete mix with innovative use of reinforcement.“We recognize safety as paramount to all aspects of GNCTR, so the accuracy of calculations is as important as the race itself. We credit our academic advisor, Raafat El-Hacha, for guiding the construction team through any questions about performing calculations involving the various materials we used.” The GNCTR originated in Alberta in the 1970s and has become the oldest and largest engineering competition in Canada. Students spend months researching designs, testing different concrete mixes and building their sleds. They’re judged on their technical reports, concrete mix designs, toboggan safety, team spirit and, of course, race performance. For more information about the concrete toboggan team at the Schulich School of Engineering, visit www.gnctr-calgary.com. 
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February 8, 2010