ASCE wins big at Concrete Canoe Competition

Members of MSU’s American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) chapter competed in the Rocky Mountain Conference on April 9 and 10 at the Colorado School of Mines, placing in every event and bringing home several awards.

 There are multiple categories including surveying, non-technical report, steel bridge and the concrete canoe. ASCE’s concrete canoe competition challenges students to collaborate and use engineering skills to design and construct a canoe made entirely from concrete. MSU’s chapter placed first overall in the Concrete Canoe Competition, first in the Project Proposal category and second in Technical Presentation.

The Concrete Canoe Competition dates back to the 70s, but the last time MSU competed was 2004. After that, the chapter focused mainly on the Steel Bridge competition. It wasn’t until a decade-and-a-half later, in the fall of 2019, that the team restarted. However, they were unable to compete due to COVID-19. 

The chapter built their canoe from scratch, while ensuring proper mix consistency. According to Jenna Brogren, captain of the concrete canoe crew and co-captain of ASCE, concrete is a difficult material to work with. It is challenging to shape and is a brittle material that cracks easily under certain types of loading. The team was thrilled when their canoe arrived at Colorado School of Mines fully intact. 

“The bulk of the work was designing the mix. Will Landrey was the mix design captain, and he was constantly in the lab performing tests,” Brogren said. Other members of the canoe team included hull designers Sam Curtis and Matthew Cornyn, constructor Andrew Blickensderfer, reinforcement overseer Konnor Johnston and designer Taleen Koudsi. 

Before the competition on April 9, judges performed visual inspections to ensure certain length and width requirements were met and asked the team questions. After interviews with the judges, students spoke with other participants. 

“A lot of us were able to ask questions of other teams about what their mix was composed of and how they accomplished their designs, everyone was super friendly and willing to share,” Brogren said. "Hearing from other people and seeing what they did was interesting.” 

After a meeting with the captains, each team then gave a five-minute technical presentation followed by seven minutes of questioning by the judges. “It’s actually really hard to do because there’s a lot of content and a minimum of two people need to talk,” Brogren said. “You have to explain what you did concisely.”

On the second day of the competition, each team’s boat had to undergo a swamp test to ensure buoyancy before racing. The race categories included sprints (two-person male, two-person female and four-person co-ed boat) as well as slalom (two-person male and two-person female). The chapter placed first in the female tandem slalom, second in the men’s slalom and third in the co-ed sprint. “We found out our canoe is very fast but likes to turn, so we did well in the slalom but not as well in the sprints,” Brogren said. 

At the end of the day, awards were given first to technical paper competitors, then surveying, steel bridge and lastly concrete canoe. ASCE members Sean Williams, Charles Gapp and Henry Wilkey took third place in the surveying competition. Cash Cota received second place in the non-technical report. As a result of the cumulative scores on its report, oral presentation and racing performances, the concrete canoe team took first place overall. 

“The win was overwhelming for myself because of how much work we put in, to see it come to fruition was amazing,” Brogren said. “My favorite part was getting to know my teammates, there were a lot of new faces and everyone had something to give to the team.”

The team competed again in the Pacific Northwest Regional Competition held virtually from Wednesday, April 27, to Friday, April 29. The chapter received third overall in the concrete canoe category, second in the technical presentation and second in the project proposal. However, the team fell short on making it to ASCE Nationals. MSU will be hosting next year’s ASCE competition and is always looking for new recruits. “Even if you aren’t a civil engineer, there’s always a spot for you,” Brogren said.