OCNews

OUC’s 19^th annual Spaghetti Bridge Building Contest went off without a hitch – or a winner. At least not in the traditional sense.

For the first time in the contest’s history, not one bridge out of the 28 teams entered in the team building competition was able to bear the weight test after the two-and-a-half-hour construction period.

Teams are given a set of specifications, a certain amount of pasta and two-and-a-half hours to build a bridge that will then be placed on a platform where a two-kilogram weight is anchored to it for five minutes. The bridge that does not break under the pressure and weighs the least amount wins.

“A couple of the bridges came close,” says Dr. Andrew Hay, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Technologies. “But the competition has become so intense, and students know the lightest bridge wins. Today, all the teams sacrificed strength for lightness and unfortunately, none of the bridges could sustain the weight.”

But they didn’t walk away empty-handed. The judging panel decided to award the $1,800 worth of prizes by conducting a random draw from all the team entries.

In the Post-Secondary Team Competition, the Grand Prize for the best team-built bridge (scholarships) went to Johnathan Smith, Dustin Serviss, Jared Wilkison, and Nat Grebinski. First prize went to an OUC team: Mark Manduca, Lee Ryman, Josh Heisler and Brett Garland. Second and Third Prizes were awarded to two teams made up of visiting students from Japan’s Ritsumeikan University, who are visiting OUC on a five-week study tour.

In the Secondary School Competition, the Grand Prize for best team-built structure ($100) went to the KLO Middle School team of Mason Vandel, Melanie Castle, Jarrett Moscrop, and Dan Setzer. First place ($400) was awarded to the Eagle River Secondary team of Brianna Gabert, Lance Bird, Christ McMorland, and Scott Bowles. Second place ($300) went to another Eagle River Secondary team made up of Corby Hart, Jeff Shatzko, Ed Johnston, and Jamie Goodridge. Third place ($200) was awarded to Rutland Middle School team of Tyler Stephens, Brian Parke and Stephen McLaughlin.

The winners of the Individual Student competition were determined in a more traditional fashion with the two competitors from the Technical University of Delft in The Netherlands taking away first and second prize after their bridges withstood the weight test and were deemed the lightest in weight. Sjaak Bloemberg took first place ($300) and Paddy Milford was second ($200). Both are industrial design students from the Technical University of Delft, who won the opportunity to compete at OUC after winning a similar competition in their hometown.

Third prize ($100) went to Ryan Edinger, a Grade 10 student from Eagle River Secondary, Sicamous. Edward Johnston, also a Grade 10 student from Eagle River Secondary placed fourth ($75), and Carl da Luz, a Grade 9 student from KLO Middle School took the fifth spot ($50).

More than 150 students participated in this year’s competition in all the events, says Hay. There were also a number of elementary school students who brought in pre-built bridges for demonstration.

Sponsors of the contest include OUC, Utilicorp Networks Canada, the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of B.C. (APEG); Applied Science Technologists and Technicians of B.C. (ASTT); the OUC Faculty Association; the OUC Students’ Association.