Ottawa,
Ontario, March 8, 2016 – Canada’s largest engineering student competition, the
Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race, took place in Ottawa from January 27 –
31, 2016. Over 500 students from 21 schools across North America were in the
nation’s capital and competed for the best built concrete sled.
GNCTR tasks
teams with designing, building, and then racing a toboggan that must have a
running surface made entirely of concrete, safely carry five people, have a
safety roll-cage, have a braking and steering system, and weigh less than 158
kg. Teams of engineering students spent months designing and testing their
toboggans, all while continuing their studies.
The teams’
hard work culminated in two key events. On Friday, January 29, teams showcased
their toboggan designs at “Tech Ex” at the Ottawa Conference & Event
Centre. The toboggans then hit the snow at the SNC-Lavalin races on Saturday at
Edelweiss in Wakefield, Quebec. The toboggans went through slalom, drag, and
head-to-head elimination races in each team’s quest for the overall
championship.
GNCTR
provides engineering students the unique opportunity to take the knowledge
they’ve learned from their studies and apply it in a fun, competitive, and
challenging way. Sponsored by some of the country’s largest engineering firms,
including PCL, the companies attend GNCTR to meet with some of the country’s brightest
future engineers.
The host
school and sponsor for GNCTR 2016 was the University of Ottawa (Faculty of
Engineering). PCL Construction was one of the title sponsors once again for
this event. This year’s champions were from the University of Western
Ontario. As well, a recap of this year’s event can be viewed here.
About PCL Construction
PCL
is a group of independent construction companies that carries out work across
Canada, the United States, the Caribbean, and in Australia. These diverse
operations in the civil infrastructure, heavy industrial, and buildings markets
are supported by a strategic presence in 31 major centers. Together, these
companies have an annual construction volume of $8.5 billion, making PCL the
largest contracting organization in Canada and one of the largest in North
America. Watch us build at PCL.com.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Christine MacCormack
Communications Specialist
PCL Constructors Canada Inc.
(613) 228-5373
cmaccormack@pcl.com