Skip to main content Skip to main navigation Skip to page-level navigation Go to the Disability Resource Centre Website Go to the DRC Booking Accommodation Portal Go to the Inclusive Technology Lab Website
The University of British Columbia
UBC - A Place of Mind
The University of British Columbia Okanagan campus
UBC Okanagan News
  • Research
  • People
    • Student Profile
    • Faculty Profile
    • Alumni Spotlight
  • Campus Life
    • Campus News
    • Student Life
    • Teaching & Learning
  • Community Engagement
  • About the Collection
    • Stories for Media
  • UBCO Events
  • Search All Stories
Home / 2015 / January / 13 / Hundreds of concrete tobogganers set to slide into Kelowna
Teaching & Learning

Hundreds of concrete tobogganers set to slide into Kelowna

January 13, 2015

UBC Okanagan’s School of Engineering plays host to more than 400 students from across Canada and the U.S. at the 2015 Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race from January 21 to 25. In action, concrete toboggans have been clocked at 80 km/h.

UBC Okanagan’s School of Engineering plays host to more than 400 students from across Canada and the U.S. at the 2015 Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race from January 21 to 25. In action, concrete toboggans have been clocked at 80 km/h.

Prestigious competition brings some 400 engineering students to UBC, Big White

Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race 2015 logoUBC Okanagan’s School of Engineering hosts the 2015 Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race (GNCTR) from January 21 to 25 in Kelowna—an event touted by organizers as “the world’s most epic student engineering competition.”

The GNCTR is a five-day, student-led national engineering competition hosted by a different university each year. This year’s competition involves about 430 students, matches 17 university teams, and showcases some of the most innovative concrete-toboggan designs from across Canada, with students contributing hundreds of hours towards their designs and planning process.

The event includes opening and closing ceremonies at the Delta Grand Hotel, the “Tech Ex” technical exhibition at UBC’s Okanagan campus, and Race Day at Big White Ski Resort.

This is the first time UBC Okanagan has won the honour of hosting the competition. Last year, in just its third year of participating, UBC Okanagan came home with an overall second-place finish at the event in London, ON.

The GNCTR is the oldest and largest engineering student competition in Canada. The first race was held in 1974 in Red Deer, Alberta.

Events at a Glance

  • Wednesday, Jan. 21: Arrivals and Opening Ceremonies at the Delta Grand Okanagan Resort. Opening ceremonies include a welcome address from Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran and Associate Dean of the School of Engineering, Dr. Spiro Yannacopoulos.
  • Thursday, Jan. 22: Technical Exhibition (Tech Ex) pep rally in the Richard S. Hallisey Atrium, Engineering, Management and Education (EME) Building, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at UBC’s Okanagan campus.
  • Friday, Jan. 23: Competitor Interaction Day at Big White Ski Resort, followed with an all-ages, public concert by The Rockies (formerly Malibu Knights) at the Kelowna Community Theatre. Tickets $10 at gnctr2015.com.
  • Saturday, Jan. 24: Race Day at Big White in Tube Town by Happy Valley Lodge from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Closing Ceremonies at the Delta Grand.
  • Sunday, Jan. 25: Departures.
About 400 student engineers participate in the annual Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race (GNCTR), a national event hosted by a different university every year.

About 400 student engineers participate in the annual Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race (GNCTR), a national event hosted by a different university every year.

Media Contact

Patty Wellborn
Media Relations Strategist
University Relations

The University of British Columbia
Okanagan campus
Tel: 250 317 0293
E-mail: patty.wellborn@ubc.ca

Content type: Media Release
More content from: School of Engineering

Trending Stories

  • Opening doors for international student research
  • Arts and science fiction connect: UBCO student designs the ...
  • UBCO honours this year’s most outstanding researchers
  • Why don’t we eat turkey eggs?
  • Psychedelic mushroom microdoses can improve mood, mental health
All Stories
Contact Media Relations

About UBC Okanagan

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning founded in partnership with local Indigenous peoples, the Syilx Okanagan Nation, in whose traditional, ancestral and unceded territory the campus resides. The most established and influential global rankings all consistently place UBC in the top five per cent of universities in the world, and among the top three Canadian universities.

The Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world in British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley. For more visit ok.ubc.ca.

Discover more about UBC Okanagan

Find a Program Admissions Book a Tour UBCO Facts
UBC Okanagan Campus News, University Relations

Innovation Precinct Annexation 1 (IA1)
3505 Spectrum Court
Kelowna, BC Canada V1V 2Z1

We respectfully acknowledge the Syilx Okanagan Nation and their peoples, in whose traditional, ancestral, unceded territory UBC Okanagan is situated.

 

Search all stories

Subscribe to receive news by email

Visit UBC's Vancouver news room

Global and Admin Messages

News

Okanagan Campus

TikTok icon Linkedin icon

UBC Okanagan News
Okanagan Campus
3333 University Way
Kelowna, BC Canada V1V 1V7
Find us on
  
Back to top
The University of British Columbia
  • Emergency Procedures |
  • Terms of Use |
  • Copyright |
  • Accessibility