Background
- Held every winter since 1974, the Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race – otherwise known as GNCTR – is an annual engineering competition.
- Over 20 engineering schools across Canada compete every year, each with teams of 10-30 student members.
- The nation-wide event gives engineering students the opportunity to work collaboratively and apply technical knowledge attained in classes towards an exciting student-run competition.
- There are many different areas for student involvement, whether it be designing and fabricating the steel frame, producing different concrete mixes, designing and constructing the technical-exhibition or assisting with the technical report.
- As this competition is extra-curricular, it also requires good time management to balance university deadlines with competition deadlines.
- The toboggans are raced down a snow hill at a host University on the final day of competition.
Concrete Toboggan in 1975 Featuring One Large Slab
Some Modern Concrete Toboggans
There are 5 Days of Competition Including…
- Technical Exhibition Day
- Race Day
- Days to network with other students and industry professionals
Toboggan Requirements
- Have a concrete running surface
- Seat 5 passengers
- Braking system
- Steering system
- Roll cage
Evaluation Criteria
- Raceday Performance:
- Speed
- Braking
- Steering
- Technical Report:
- Design aspects (Frame, concrete)
- Justifications
- Sustainability
- Construction Methodology
- Technical Presentations
- Technical Display
- Spirit Participation
- Safety
UMGNCTR 