25th National Concrete Canoe Championship Claimed By California Polytechnic San Luis Obispo

News provided by

American Society of Civil Engineers

Jun 17, 2012, 01:33 ET

School Captures "America's Cup of Civil Engineering" Award For Third Year in a Row

RENO, Nev., June 17, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- For the third year in a row, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo has won the National Concrete Canoe Competition.  After putting their academic and athletic skills to the test in a grueling three-day battle at the American Society of Civil Engineers' 25th annual National Concrete Canoe Competition. The school's win came in their canoe called Prospector in honor of the California Gold Rush.

Throughout the year, teams of civil engineering students from across the country and Canada logged thousands of hours researching, designing and constructing their concrete canoes in search of the winning combination of creativity, knowledge and teamwork. After coming out on top in regional competitions throughout the spring, the best and brightest from 22 top engineering schools matched wits and skills in the national finals.

The winning team receives a $5000 scholarship and a trophy.  Second place team overall receives a $2500 scholarship and trophy, and the third-place team receives a $1,500 scholarship and a trophy.

The complete 2011 ranking is:

Rank – School (Canoe Name)

1st –California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

2nd –University Laval

3rd–Michigan Technological University

4th –University of Nevada, Reno

5th –University of Florida

6th –Ecole de technologie superieure

7th –California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

8th –University of Wisconsin, Madison

9th –Youngstown State University

10th –University of California, Berkeley

11th –University of Texas at Tyler

12th –University of Evansville

13th –University of Massachusetts, Lowell

14th –Clemson University

15th –Fairmont State University

16th –University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown

17th –University of Wisconsin-Platteville

18th –Utah State University

19th –Oregon State University

20th –Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

21st –Louisiana Tech University

22nd –Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

The competition is comprised of both academic and athletic events, and the scores are divided into four components which are each worth 25 percent of the team's final score. Students write a paper detailing the design and construction of their canoe and then give an oral presentation on their year-long effort. They are also judged on their final product, the canoe, and their accompanying display, which further explains their design process. Finally, they put their canoe through the paces in a series of five race events—men's and women's slalom/endurance races and men's, women's and co-ed sprint races.

The National Concrete Canoe Competition was made possible by sponsorships from World of Concrete, Baker Concrete Construction, U.S. Silica, GEICO, Kinross, the University of Nevada, Reno, the ASCE Foundation, Sierra Nevada Concrete Association, KPFF Consulting Engineer, DS Solid Works and the Nevada Section of ASCE. For more information on the competition, including downloadable, high-resolution photos, race results and event details, visit: www.concretecanoe.asce.org.

Founded in 1852, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) represents more than 144,000 civil engineers worldwide and is America's oldest national engineering society. For more information, visit www.asce.org.

EDITOR'S NOTE: High resolution competition photos available upon request and on AP.

SOURCE American Society of Civil Engineers