Singapore National Concrete Canoe Competition |
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Concrete Canoe Competition (CCC) is not a new thing. It has been a major event happening in the United States since the 1970s, and has spread around the world with races being held in Holland, England, New Zealand, Germany, Canada, Japan, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates. And now, it has come to Singapore.
In spirit, Singapore National Concrete Canoe Competition (SNCCC) is similar to that of a cardboard boat race ¡ª make the seemingly unfloatable float. However, since concrete and other poured surfaces are integral parts of a civil engineer¡¯s education, concrete canoes typically feature more development than cardboard boats. Concrete canoes, are actually lighter than water, as required by the rules of the competition. They must pass a test in which the canoe is filled with water and pushed below the surface (swamp test); the canoe must then resurface in order to qualify for racing. This is possible because, unlike normal concrete which uses sand and small rocks, concrete canoes are created with hollow aggregates such as Macrolite and microspheres. However, because many teams still design their concrete mixes to be denser than water, in the United States, teams are allowed to insert concrete-covered, non-structural foam pieces in their canoes to make the canoes float after being submerged. The entire competition is divided into 4 parts. 1st Stage: Design Paper Participants will have an ample time of 2 months to complete their design paper on their concrete canoes and submit before the end of December. Results of the first round elimination stage will be out at the beginning of January 2008. Participants will be notified through e-mail regardless eliminated or not. 2nd Stage: Oral Presentation At the beginning of February 2008, participants who passed the first round of elimination will then give oral business presentations regarding their concrete canoes in NTU. Each team must conduct a formal 20-minute oral presentation in which they detail the canoe's design, construction, racing ability, and other innovative features. Presentations may be technical and/or marketing-oriented. 3rd Stage: Swamp Test During mid-May 2008, participants are required to present their canoes to the judges and also to do a swamp test in NTU Nanyang Lake to each of their canoes in order to make sure they can float in a horizontal position when submerged in water. 4th Stage: Canoeing At this final stage of the competition, which is also on the last day for Concrete Canoe Competition, participants are to be racing among each team on a designated location on their home-made canoes. Life guards and Red Cross Teams will be hired during the whole canoe-rowing event. Besides, for more safety precautions, participants are also required to wear life jackets. Lastly, canoes must be disposed of with full responsibility by each team after the competition. For more information, please visit the SNCCC web-site at: http://clubs.ntu.edu.sg/cee/SNCCC
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