An enormous construction boot, big enough to carry five civil engineering students, will transport the Concordia Shufflers down a snow-packed mountain next week at the Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race (GNCTR) in Edmonton.
“We wanted to look for something that represents civil engineering,” said Laureanno Beccerra, one of the six Concordia students who helped build the toboggan.
If they do win the event they say they will donate the prize money to their namesake, The Concordia Shuffle Walk-a-Thon. The walk-a-thon is an annual event held every fall to raise money for student aid and scholarships.
The GNCTR began in 1975, with only four competitors participating in the first race. The event, held in Canada, has since caught the attention of universities and technical institutes from as far away as Germany and France. This year, the University of Alberta will host the 18 teams from across North America taking part in the race.
Each team must design and build its toboggan according to the rules set out by the GNCTR, which include a running surface made out of concrete, a braking system, and a maximum weight of 300 lbs. Though the final product can only carry five people, more participants are often needed in the construction process. Overall, 310 people are taking part in the event this year. That comes down to an average of 17 members per team.
“Some teams have 20 people and have been working on it [the toboggan] for one year, we only started working on it about two weeks ago,” said Marie Dugue, another member of the Concordia Shufflers.
Either way, the civil engineering students believe that the GNCTR will help them apply their knowledge while having fun. “In class we often see some stuff and we don’t have the chance to do it manually,” said Dugue. “It’s [the GNCTR] an interesting experience.”
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