Concrete Toboggan Team

Since its origin in 1974, GNCTR has proven to be a way for thousands of engineering students to exhibit their technical knowledge and ingenuity outside of the classroom. Teams of undergraduate engineering students from universities across Canada design, construct and race a toboggan that must hold 5 students. Each toboggan must have a concrete sliding surface, a steering system, a braking apparatus, a protective roll-cage, and must be less than 300 pounds. These teams gather every winter to present their creations and participate in what has grown to be the largest engineering student competition in Canada.

=The Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race= Each winter, universities from across Canada are brought together by the Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race and compete in this design competition that runs over four days.

The Race
Five members from each team board their toboggan and push off down the hill to earn coveted awards including fastest toboggan and shortest braking distance. In 2009, there was a steering competition which required each team to slalom down the hill to reach the finish line. In 2010, there was a head-to-head, sudden death elimination race to compete for the King of the Hill title, its first time at the GNCTR.

The Technical Exposition
Each team creates a booth showcasing the important design elements of their toboggan, and the phases of work that were required to bring the team from race dreams to race day. A panel of professionals then reward teams for research and innovation in areas including safety, concrete mix design, and braking system design. The judging panel consists of experienced engineers from industry and academia.

The Spirit
Teams are encouraged to display their positive spirit throughout the competition by developing a theme for their team, complete with uniforms, slogans, dances, skits, and cheers. The teams with friendliest and most outgoing attitudes compete for the Spirit Award!

=Team Structure= At any given time, the University of Waterloo Concrete Toboggan Team is preparing two toboggans simultaneously. With the University of Waterloo Co-op Program, engineering students are divided into one of two streams depending on their program. This division means while one stream of students is on co-op, the other stream is on campus. As the team is composed of students from both streams, team members on the same stream will focus primarily on one toboggan to provide ease to the design process. Although both toboggans have a separate core group of captains and team members, finances and information are shared between the teams.

=Historical Records= The University of Waterloo Concrete Toboggan Team has long been successful at this competition. The University of Waterloo has four past overall victories, the most overall victories by any University in the last 15 years, as well as numerous runner up and special mention awards. Below is a list of some of the honours the University of Waterloo has accomplished in this competition.

=External Links=
 * Team Website
 * GNCTR Wiki

=References=