Photo courtesy GNCTR

Members of the McMaster Engineering Concrete Toboggan Team (MECTT), "McMaster Jailbait," pose with their aluminum frame, concrete skis, and weight-driven-brake toboggan during the Montreal race in 2006.

Three-hundred-pound concrete and metal sleighs will zoom down the hills later this month during the 36^th annual Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race (GNCTR) in Milton, Ont.

Steve Quinlan, B.Eng., EIT, and former McMaster University student, says the national competition helps prepare participants for the engineering profession.

"GNCTR provides students with an opportunity to apply their knowledge to several real life design problems, such as concrete mix, structural steel, and braking mechanism," he told Construction Canada Online. "Competitors work for months in design teams, learning teamwork skills that are so crucial in their future engineering careers. They then get to bring their designs to life, gaining construction experience with pouring/testing concrete, bending steel, and welding. They also learn other skills like communication, organization, report writing, and fundraising."

The running surface is made entirely of concrete, and the sleigh has to meet a weight limit, have a functioning brake, and a roll cage to protect its occupants. Judges evaluate the toboggans based on the technical aspects of their designs, as well as performance in top speed, fastest time, shortest braking distance, and best use of fly ash.

The technical exhibition will be held on January 29, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Hamilton Convention Centre, where teams will have displays based on their themes to show off their toboggans and explain the technical aspects of their designs.

The race is the next day from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Glen Eden Ski & Snowboard Centre in nearby Milton. The morning will consist of individual timed runs and the afternoon is a sudden death elimination battle.