Think or Swim – National Concrete Canoe Competition Sets Sail for UA

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Concrete is not the material the average person thinks of when they decide to build a racing canoe. But then again, these students aren’t average people!

Hundreds of civil engineering students will trek to The University of Alabama June 11-13 for their chance at the “America’s Cup of Civil Engineering,” the American Society of Civil Engineers’ National Concrete Canoe Competition.

Throughout the year, more than 250 teams of civil engineering students log thousands of hours researching, designing and constructing their concrete canoes in the hopes of finding the winning combination of knowledge and teamwork. And after competing in their regional competitions, the best of the best will set sail for the national event in Tuscaloosa.

“Our students have been preparing for this event for several years and are excited to be the host school for this unique national competition,” said Dr. Ken Fridley, professor and department chair of civil, construction and environmental engineering. “It is a great opportunity to showcase the University and Tuscaloosa to hundreds of civil engineering students from all over the U.S. and Canada.”

The competition is comprised of both academic and race events. Each team’s total score is based on the engineering design and construction principles used in the creation of the canoe. Scoring for the competition is divided into four components: design paper; oral presentation; final product; and five different races – men’s and women’s slalom/endurance races and men’s, women’s and co-ed sprint races. The teams are competing for academic scholarship awards.

For more information on the National Concrete Canoe Competition, including downloadable high-resolution photos, visit http://content.asce.org/conferences/nccc2009/index.html.

Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers represents more than 146,000 civil engineers worldwide and is America’s oldest national engineering society. For more information, visit www.asce.org.

In 1837, UA became the first university in the state to offer engineering classes and was one of the first five in the nation to do so. Today, the College of Engineering, with about 2,300 students and more than 100 faculty, is one of the three oldest continuously operating engineering programs in the country and has been fully accredited since accreditation standards were implemented in the 1930s.