The University of Toronto’s Concrete Toboggan Team reigned supreme to bring home the first place trophy at the 2020 Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race (GNCTR).
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Beating out 20 other universities involving over 500 engineering students, the entry came first overall supported by firsts in Top Performing Toboggan and the King of the Hill head-to-head race.
The announcement came at the closing ceremonies dinner in Toronto the evening of Saturday, February 1, 2020. Competitors first had to navigate the Tech-Ex on Friday, January 31, 2020 where they displayed their products, themes and presented their designs to a panel of industry judges.
Competition then got fast with on-hill action involving drag, giant slalom, and King of the Hill challenge races held at Snow Valley Resort near Barrie, Ont. on Saturday, February 1, 2020.
U of T’s winning entry also set a land speed record for the event with a blistering 73 km/h run. With their theme of Canada Post postal workers, the team focused on a safe and speedy delivery.
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The 2020 GNCTR, the 46th iteration of the competition, is the first time U of T has hosted the event. It is the largest and longest-running undergraduate engineering competition in Canada. Representing a multidisciplinary challenge, teams construct a toboggan with a fully concrete running surface (usually skis), steering and braking systems, as well as a roll cage. Designs must weigh less than 300 lbs and accommodate five safely.
U of T’s Concrete Toboggan Co-Captains Sophie Ordman (fourth year Civ) and Michael Lizzi (fourth year EngSci) were featured in this interview from December.
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Student videos from race day:
by Phill Snel