Canadian National Concrete Canoe Competition

There are many other important divisions of Concrete Canoe including sponsorship, food, construction, and paddling. In May, teams from universities across Canada will gather to compete at the 16th annual Canadian National Concrete Canoe Competition hosted by the University of Toronto itself! Several races are held (the 2007 races were featured on the Discovery Channel), and the canoes are judged. Last year, we won 5th overall in the competition against 12 other universities. With the addition of talented 1T3 engineers like yourself, we hope to make a splash in 2010!

The Concrete Canoe Competition itself involves more than just racing each team's final product. Proper engineering methods and professionalism is highly encouraged in the competition. Thus, large portions of the scores are allocated to the oral presentation on the design of the canoe as well as the written technical report which details these designs. The canoes are also weighted before the races and points are deducted for inaccurate calculations regarding the estimated weight of the canoe. This is to help enforce the importance of accurate estimates and error margins in the work of an engineer.

The shape and composition of the concrete mix of the canoe is strictly guided by the competition rules. Aside from complying to the required dimensions as per the rules, aesthetics are also taken into account in the judging process. Further, the canoes are subject a swamp test in which the canoe is submerged completely underwater and is required to float back to the surface of the water by itself. All of these requirements are challenges that members of the canoe team must overcome every year.

The highlight of the competition, of course, are the races. These include the men's endurance, women's endurance, men's sprint, women's sprint and the co-ed sprint. While the placements of races depend entirely on the efforts of the team's paddlers, the reminder of the team is encouraged to cheer as there is an award given for the most spirited team at competition.

The Concrete Canoe Competition is a competition that entails so much more than just racing the canoes. This is the reason why we, at the University of Toronto, spend endless hours on the design and finishing of our canoe because we believe that every ounce of our efforts counts toward the final placement of our canoe at competition.