History and Purpose of the National Concrete Canoe Competition

It’s in our sidewalks, the foundations of our homes and in buildings, bridges, roads and dams around the world. While concrete has become the most widely used building material in the world, it remains a mystery to many. However, the use of concrete in floating vessels is not new. In fact, the history of concrete boat building dates back to 1848, when Joseph Louis Lambot built thin-walled reinforced concrete boats for use at his estate in Miraval, France. Concrete was also used to build barges during World War II to replace scarce steel supplies.

The history of Concrete Canoe in the United States actually began in the 1960s, when a small number of ASCE student chapters began holding intramural Concrete Canoe races. Then, in the 1970s, both the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of California, Berkeley claim to have held the first regional competition. In the more than 30 years since, the students’ efforts to combine engineering excellence and hydrodynamic design to construct water-worthy canoes have culminated in an advanced form of concrete construction and racing technique known as the “America’s Cup of Civil Engineering.”

Twenty years ago, in 1988, ASCE expanded the competition to the national level, when Master Builders, Inc., now the Admixture Systems business of BASF Construction Chemicals, signed-on to become the sole corporate sponsor for the event. In its first year, 18 teams of enthusiastic civil engineering students from the nation’s premier academic programs gathered in East Lansing, Mich., to test the waters of this innovative and educational event. Over the next two decades, the competition became a great success, with regional winners traveling across the country by plane, train and Ryder truck, canoes in tow, in their quest to become National Concrete Canoe Competition champions.

As competition was developing here in the United States, the idea had also taken hold in other countries. Today, concrete canoe racing happens around the world in places like Germany, South Africa, Canada, Japan and the United Arab Emirates; and with sponsorship from ASCE and the American Concrete Institute (ACI), the 2007 National Concrete Canoe Competition winning team, University of Wisconsin - Madison, travelled to the Netherlands to represent the United States in the 30th Annual Dutch Concrete Canoe Challenge.

The Concrete Canoe Competition was designed to provide civil engineering students an opportunity to gain hands-on, practical experience and leadership skills by working with concrete mix designs and project management. Organizers, sponsors and participants are dedicated to building awareness of concrete technology and application, as well as the versatility and durability of concrete as a construction material, among civil engineering students, educators, practitioners, the concrete industry and the general public. They also strive to increase awareness among industry leaders, opinion makers and the general public of civil engineering as a dynamic and innovative profession essential to society. In its 20-year history, the National Concrete Canoe Competition has challenged the knowledge, creativity and stamina of more than 400 teams and 5000 students. In 2008, more than 200 teams competed in 18 conference competitions to qualify for participation at the national level.

Each year the competition travels to a different school. National sponsors of the NCCC underwrite the expenses for travel, meals and accommodations for the first-place winners of the conference competitions, as well as any teams who placed second in conference competitions in which the winner placed first through fifth in the previous year’s national competition.

Teams of engineering students will gather for a weekend designed to be both challenging and fun. Twenty-five percent of each team’s total team score will be based on the engineering design and construction principles used in the creation of their concrete canoe; 25 percent will be based on a technical design report detailing the planning, development, testing and construction of their canoe; and 25 percent will be based on a formal business presentation highlighting the canoe’s design, construction, racing ability and other innovative features. The remaining 25 percent of each team’s score is based on the performance of the canoe and the paddlers in five different race events: men’s and women’s slalom/endurance races, and men’s, women’s and co-ed sprint races.

Past winners include:

Year	First Place	Second Place	Third Place
2007	University of Wisconsin – Madison	University of Florida	University of Nevada, Reno
2006	University of Wisconsin – Madison	California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo	Clemson University
2005	University of Wisconsin – Madison	Clemson University	Michigan Technological University
2004	University of Wisconsin – Madison	Université Laval	The University of Alabama in Huntsville
2003	University of Wisconsin – Madison	Université Laval	University of California, Berkeley
2002	Clemson University	Université Laval	Oklahoma State University
2001	The University of Alabama in Huntsville	Clemson University	Oklahoma State University
2000	Clemson University	Oklahoma State University	Florida Institute of Technology
1999	Clemson University	The University of Alabama in Huntsville	Oklahoma State University
1998	The University of Alabama in Huntsville	California State University, Sacramento	Clemson University
1997	Florida Institute of Technology	The University of Alabama in Huntsville	University of California Berkeley
1996	The University of Alabama in Huntsville	Michigan State University	University of California Berkeley
1995	South Dakota School of Mines & Technology	California State University, Sacramento	Michigan State University
1994	The University of Alabama in Huntsville	University of California, Berkeley	University of New Orleans
1993	The University of Alabama in Huntsville	Michigan State University	University of California, Berkeley
1992	University of California, Berkeley	The University of Alabama in Huntsville	University of New Orleans
1991	University of California, Berkeley	University of Maryland	S.U.N.Y. Buffalo
1990	Michigan State University	University of Maryland	University of California, Berkeley
1989	University of California, Berkeley	Michigan State University	University of New Hampshire
1988	University of California, Berkeley	University of New Hampshire	University of Akron

ASCE selects one of the more than 250 ASCE Student Chapters and Clubs to host the ASCE National Concrete Canoe Competition each year. First held in Lake Lansing, Mich., the nationals were subsequently hosted by chapters in Lubbock, Texas in 1989; Buffalo, N.Y. in 1990; Orlando, Fla. in 1991; Fort Collins, Colo. in 1992; Sacramento, Calif. in 1993; New Orleans in 1994; Washington, D.C. in 1995; Madison, Wis. in 1996; Cleveland in 1997; Rapid City, S.D. in 1998; Melbourne, Fla. in 1999; Golden, Colo. in 2000; San Diego in 2001; Madison, Wis. in 2002; Philadelphia in 2003; Washington, D.C. in 2004; Clemson, S.C. in 2005; Stillwater, Okla. in 2006; and Seattle in 2007.