A concrete ‑ what ?

- March 3, 2006

Dean Josh Leon, P.Eng., gave us a great send-off hours before we drove off, with two fully loaded vans. Back row l-r are Nicholas Smith, Matthew Antolin, Stephen Buchholz, Eric Tabbiner, and Bradley Collier. Front row l-r Samantha Fawson, Stephanie Marriott, Chris Verve, and Julie Briand.  Missing from photo: Billy Andrews, Collum Furey, and Susan Tibbo. (Leigh Day/Dal Eng Photo)

Early this month, the Dalhousie Engineering East Coasters set out to make our mark on the slopes of Grey Rocks, near Montreal, Quebec. The Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race took place February 1-5th. Of the 28 teams at this competition, we were among the rookies - but were up to the challenge.

What we lacked in experience, we made up with enthusiasm, great technical training, and guidance from the best, Dr. John Newhook and Engineering Technician, Mark MacDonald. Our solid core of 12 students included 3rd and 4th year students from civil, mechanical, industrial and materials engineering.

I was proud to lead Dalhousie«s first Concrete Toboggan Team. Chris Verge, also a 3rd year civil student, did an amazing job as our Design Captain. The mechanicals designed the braking/steering system, the civils designed the concrete and the general toboggan, the materials did a lot of the construction, and the industrial focused on logistics and sponsorship.

Our Major Sponsors
  • Dalhousie University
  • Faculty of Engineering
  • Dept. of Civil and Resource Engineering
  • Dal Student Union
  • PCL
  • Sexton Engineering Endowment Fund
  • Vehicle Safety Research Team, Aecon
  • APENS
  • Dexter Construction Company Ltd.
  • Lafarge
  • Northstar Precast Concrete
  • Ocean Contractors
  • Shaw Pipe

The «Fisherman« theme worked well for us. We really stood out with our yellow rain gear, fuzzy lobsters and our mascot, Julie Briand, who cheered us on in her red lobster suit.

The toboggan had to weigh under 300 pounds, with running surfaces made of concrete. With the five team members riding it, the toboggan weighed close to a ton - and would hopefully achieve speeds of over 60 km/hr. That«s pretty fast when traveling down a luge style ski slope.

Scores are based on time, stopping distance, team spirit, and the technical report. We based our design and safety calculations on the hypothetical event that we might roll over at 80 km/hr - just to be sure.

The learning curve for this competition was steep. Initially we didn«t know the extent of what a competition like this entailed. By the end we had overcome every challenge and emerged victorious. In the early design stages, none of us had any knowledge of concrete or designing anything Ñ let alone a 300 pound toboggan with an effective braking system. Through a lot of research, and faculty members who allowed us to pick their brains, the toboggan design began to take shape.

Over months of designing, building, and re-designing, it didn«t always feel like we were going to succeed. But with the guidance of Dr. Newhook and the incredible patience and hard work of Mark MacDonald, we pulled through. All we needed next was a blizzard to test our «East Coaster«, before we headed to Montreal.

We didn«t get the blizzard, but enough snow to have a great time on Citadel Hill, surrounded by TV cameras and reporters. At the competition students from across the country had heard of the Dalhousie Team, thanks to the national publicity that the Halifax news crews gave us.

As we left for the competition late January 31st, a blizzard hit Halifax. We were beginning to realize that our luck with weather was part of the challenge. With low speeds and a lot of patience, we made it to Montreal with time to spare.

The event itself was an amazing experience. We were all very proud to represent Nova Scotia at this national competition. Although other teams had three times as many team members, and years of experience - Dalhousie Engineering made its mark. By the last day everyone there knew that we were a reckoning force in this competition - and we were here to stay.

At the competition, we were very proud of our accomplishments. McMaster University presented some «fun awards«, which we won for «Best Mascot.« While we didn«t receive first in the official categories, we did outrank many seasoned teams. We are now all geared up for the 2007 event, which will be held in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Way to go team!!

See our web site at http://societies.dsu.ca/daltoboggan/ for more photos and check out our sponsors.


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