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Concrete canoe paddles to Dutch win

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Also by Elissa Goffman:

Lecturer reflects on 'dow day' (October 17, 2007)
Speakers discuss animal research programs, uses (September 27, 2007)
New designs for UW hockey rink (September 25, 2007)
Concrete canoe paddles to Dutch win (September 14, 2007)
Students vow to never forget (September 12, 2007)

by Elissa Goffman

Friday, September 14, 2007

Last week, the University of Wisconsin Concrete Canoe Team left the 30th annual Dutch Concrete Canoe Challenge in the Netherlands victorious, taking first place overall.

At the competition, engineers must formulate design plans and mix special concrete for optimal strength and low density for the unique feat of not only making the canoe's float, but race.

After winning the U.S. national championship for the fifth consecutive time in June, the team was one of 12 invited to participate, most of which hailed from the Netherlands or Germany. The UW team was triumphant in five out of the six race categories.

The 20-foot, 176-pound canoe, the Descendent, also won in the construction and innovation categories for its design and use of environmentally sound concrete.

Canoe team project manager, David Blodgett, a senior civil and environmental engineering student, could not have been happier with the competition results. He said the races were very physical and described the men's sprint, which was held in a narrow canal with overhead bridges, as a "true battle."

Despite some of the decorative concrete breaking off the canoe after a "brutal T-bone" during the co-ed race, the UW team was able to pull off decisive victories.

UW has been involved in the concrete canoe competition at the national level for 14 consecutive years, and the team said it owes much of its success to the support of both their industry and alumni sponsors.

College of Engineering Associate Dean Steve Cramer, a professor of civil and environmental engineering, was the team's 2007 adviser. He believes the competition is an opportunity to remind all students that engineering has become a global field and that the success of the students provides them with a chance to gain a global experience.

"It's a well-deserved trip," Cramer said. "The team was closely knit and very committed. They worked hard."

The American Concrete Institute and the American Society of Civil Engineers paid the team's trip expenses to the Netherlands.

"We owe a big thank you to ASCE and ACI for funding the trip and being so amazing in helping [us] get there," Blodgett said.

Overall, Blodgett thought the trip was a positive experience for the team. It was a "great pleasure" to be part of the competition, he said.

"I've gained a lot of experience as a leader in terms of motivating and teaching people of all skill levels and backgrounds," Blodgett said.

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