The Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race (GNCTR) is the largest and longest running engineering student competition in Canada. 400 engineering students from 20 institutions are required to design and construct a toboggan with concrete running surface(s), a roll cage, and mechanical steering and braking systems that combine to safely glide the toboggans down a steep snow-covered hill. The toboggans are to weigh less than 350 pounds and be able to hold 5 competitors. Each competing team must submit technical and safety reports which they will present during Technical Exhibition Day, as well as complete three downhill race courses; the first two testing their braking and steering performances and the final being a King of the Hill battle: a head-to-head bracketed tournament. Spirit is a major component of the competition, where teams traditionally select a theme for their toboggan. Teams often indulge in their theme and incorporate it into their toboggan design/aesthetics and wear costumes in line with the theme. Throughout the event, teams are judged on their technical, safety, racing, and spirit.
This year, the competition was hosted in St. John’s, NL from Feb 7th to 11th, which marks the 50th anniversary of the competition and Waterloo’s 40th year competing! 17 Waterloo engineers traveled to race down the hill in their golf-themed “Tee-Bog” and took home the Sustainability Award, as well as scoring highly in multiple Civil-focused categories!
Results:
-9th Place Overall (out of 16 competing teams)
-1st Place Sustainability
-2nd Place Scheduling
-3rd Place Ski Geometry
-4th Place Overall Concrete Design
-4th Place Technical Report
-5th Place Superstructure Design
Congratulations to the UW Toboggan Team on their success!!
Monday, February 26, 2024