Announcements

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- Competition Schedule for Our International Contingent -

If your concrete canoe competition is not being covered... please let us know and we'll do it.

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2010 U.S. National Concrete Canoe Competition
San Luis Obispo, California
June 17-19, 2010

ConcreteCanoe.org  -  2010 National Coverage -  ConcreteCanoe.org
(rules, national qualifiers, photos, top picks, race site, links, commentary, etc.)

During the past twenty-two (22) years... there have been only eight (8) U.S. champions.

My prediction is that this competition will go down in history as the "Civil War of Concrete Canoeing" in which all of the multiple title holders [North (Wisconsin "Badgers" - 5 national titles), South (Team UAH "Chargers" - 5 national titles), East (Clemson "3CT" - 3 national titles), and West (Berkeley "Bears" - 5 national titles] take the field of battle, along with many other highly skilled qualifiers, to establish the next national champion... jag

The University of Wisconsin - Madison has archived the following top design reports from the 2009 National Concrete Canoe Competition (Cal-Berkeley, ETS, Cal Poly-SLO, Cincinnati, and New Mexico State).
Way to go guys... we really appreciate your continued support.

- Team UAH Dedicates Effort to Fallen "SUPERCHARGERS" -

Team UAH (5 time national champions) began placement of their concrete canoe on Friday, February 12^th.  But after receiving word that there was a shooter on campus, the Chargers locked down the bay where construction was taking place until the suspect was apprehended.  Construction was halted about midway through the placement process after the administration closed the school.

After removing all of the materials that they had placed in the mold, Team UAH resumed construction on Thursday^.  The students dedicated their efforts to the faculty and staff that were killed and wounded during this horrific tragedy.  Memorial services for the deceased were held on Friday, February 19^th at 7:00 p.m. in Spragins Hall.

According to ASCE Chapter President Jorge Cacciatore, "The tragedy had a silent psychological impact on all present. This left little time to think about what was going on.  Everyone's cell phone was going off and there was a great deal of shock and uncertainty." (more)

"The victims and their families have my deepest and most heartfelt sympathy.  Thanks to all who showed up last Friday and again on Thursday... especially to those who came shaken after being in the building where the shootings occurred.  I really appreciate your commitment and will forever remember my fallen colleagues as some of our school's most dedicated  'Superchargers."  ... Dr. John A. Gilbert, UAH ASCE Faculty Advisor

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2010 1^st Oman Concrete Canoe Competition (OCCC)
Location: Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat 
Dates: April 1-8, 2010

The Civil and Architectural Engineering Society (CAES) at Sultan Qaboos University was planning to establish an Oman Concrete Canoe Competition (OCCC) during the Muscat Festival in 2010, but it had to be cancelled because of H1N1.  Our understanding is that the competition will be held during the period April 1-8 during the forth students engineering gathering 2010 at Sultan Qaboos University in Muscat.  

We're flying the Omanian flag on our banner (see Gateway).  If your country is not included on this site but you're concrete canoeing, please let us know and we'll include you.

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2010 1^st Turkish Concrete Canoe Competition
Location: To be determined (probably Halic)
Dates: To be determined (most likely June/July)

We're learned from a student at the Istanbul Technical University in Istanbul, Turkey... that plans are currently underway to organize a concrete canoe competition there.  Our best guess is that the competition will be held at Halic, a horn shaped estuary that bifurcates the European side of Istanbul.  June/July 2010 is the most likely timeframe.

We're flying the Turkish flag on our banner (see Gateway).  If your country is not included on this site but you're concrete canoeing, please let us know and we'll include you. 

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2009 South African Concrete Boat Race
20^th Edition
Victoria Lake, Germiston
September 19, 2009

On the 19th September the Inland Branch held their 20th Annual Concrete Boat Race Day at the Victoria Lake Club in Germiston, near Johannesburg.  The South African Boat Race has been held every year since 1990.

In 2009, a team from the University of Johannesburg (upper left) won the Student Construction Award.  The student's race was won by the University of Pretoria (upper right).  Teams from PPC Cement won the Industry Race (lower left) and the Ladies Race (lower right).

There was a new prize awarded in 2009 to the first boat that sank. This occurred in 10 seconds from the start of the first  race and went to the head of the engineering department at one of the universities (name withheld to protect reputation), but you can see the picture along with other photos and additional information here.

2009 South African Concrete Boat Race Website

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2009 Japanese Nationals
15^th All Japan Challenge
Saitama, Japan
August 29, 2009

The 15th Annual All Japan Challenge took place on August 29, 2009 and the results are in.  The event was sponsored by the Japanese Society of Civil Engineers.

The 2009 competition (left) was won by a team from Utsunomiya University (above).  Akita Prefectural Technical High School Omagari placed second; Yuu Makoto University place third.

You can read all about the 2009 competition here (If you can't read Japanese... copy site into Google and press translate... jag).

  Did you know that the first concrete canoe race in Japan took place in Saiko in 1995 (history) and events now take place throughout the country (Japanese venues)?

2008 Video

2009 All Japan Concrete Canoe Website

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2009 German Nationals - 12^th Deutsche Betonkanu-Regatta
Essen, Germany
June 19-20, 2009

Every few years, the Federal Association of the German Cement industry (BDZ) in Düsseldorf organizes a special type of spectacular... a concrete canoe regatta.  This year over 90 teams registered... with participants coming  from a number of other countries including Switzerland and the Netherlands.  The competition was held in Essen, a city in the center of the Ruhr Area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany... located on the Ruhr River.  

      This year's races were won by the women's team from the TU Dortmund (left) and the men's team from the University of Twente Enschede (right).

 The Aachen University of Applied Sciences won first prize for having the best name.  The best design award went to the ZHAW - Zurich University while the University Lusatian defended their title in the Open Class.

2009 Deutsche Betonkanu-Regatta Website

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2009 U.S. National Concrete Canoe Competition - 22^nd Anniversary
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
June 11-13, 2009

UC Berkeley Wins 5^th National Title

The University of California-Berkeley emerged victorious over 21 other teams... besting a field that included 4 previous U.S. and 2 Canadian National Champions.  The Bears now hold a record five national wins along with the Team UAH Chargers and the Wisconsin Badgers.

ETS (2009 Canadian National Champion) placed second, Cal Poly-SLO third, Florida fourth, and Nevada-Reno fifth.

  
Berkeley weighs in "Bear Area" in the early stages of the competition (left).
UAH's David Keeton (on drums) and Laval's Farnell Morisett (on bagpipes) join forces to serenade the troops during inclement weather while teams waited to resume racing (right).   

ConcreteCanoe.org  -  2009 National Coverage -  ConcreteCanoe.org
(national qualifiers, photos, top picks, race site, links, commentary, etc.)

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2009 BetonKanoRace - 32^nd Anniversary
Roermond, Netherlands
June 5-7, 2009

  
The University of Twente won the 2009 BetonKanoRace.

The 2009 BetonKanoeRace (concrete canoe race) was held in Roermond, a town located in the southeastern part of the Netherlands on the river Mass.  Competitions such as this date back to the early '70s and this is the Netherlands' 32^nd competition.   The first three placements were University of Twente, TU Dreesden (Germany) and NHL Leeuwarden.

2009 BetonKanoRace Website

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ETS Wins 2009 Canadian Nationals - 15^th Anniversary
Montreal, Quebec
May 16-18, 2009 

The 2009 Canadian National Concrete Competition was held May 16-18 in Montreal, Quebec and hosted by Ecole Polytechnique.  ETS won with Laval second and Sherbrooke third.

ETS and Laval will compete in the U.S. Nationals in June.  The 2010 CNCCC will be held next year in Toronto, Canada. 

     
ETS successfully defended their Canadian NCCC title with "Vintage."

2009 Canadian National Concrete Canoe Competition Website

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2009 Concrete Canoe Challenge - 7^th French Nationals
IUT - Cergy-Pontoise
May 6-7, 2009

The first Concrete Canoe Challenge took place at IUT Grenoble in 2001, and the latest offering was held in Cergy-Pontoise where IUT de Bourges placed first overall.  Second place went to IUT d'Égletons.  IUT du Havre placed third.  The French Nationals are  typically held once every two years.

2009 Concrete Canoe Challenge Website

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2009 South Australian Concrete Canoe Races - 3^rd Annual
West Lakes, Australia
February 27, 2009

The third annual South Australian Concrete Canoe Competition was hosted by Adelaide University earlier this year.  The University of South Australia participated in the event that was sponsored in part by the Concrete Institute of .Australia.

Be sure to catch the audio segment where Ms. Bree Bennett talks about Adelaide's design and the U.S. competition.  See: 

2009 Australian Concrete Canoe Competition Coverage

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- In Canada... Concrete Canoe Magazine -

 Concrete Canoe Magazine - Free Downloads and Call for Papers

Concrete Canoe Magazine is looking for articles to be published in the next edition (2010).

Call for Papers

In 2006, alumni from Laval (eight time Canadian National Concrete Canoe Champs - statistics) published the inaugural issue of "Concrete Canoe Magazine."    Their intent was to disseminate knowledge and recent developments in concrete canoeing and to share experiences among concrete canoe enthusiasts and former participants. If you haven't seen the magazine yet, you can download PDF copies of the first three issues... free... by visiting.

Concrete Canoe Magazine

       
The first three issues are free on line.
The 4^th edition was not published in 2009 due to financial constraints... but it's scheduled to come out in 2010.

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2008 South African Concrete Boat Race
Victoria Lake, Germiston
September 13, 2008

 The 2007 Competition took place on September 15, 2007.

  
 The University of Johannesburg placed first in the student category.

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2008 Japanese Nationals - 14^th All Japan Challenge
Saiko, Japan
August 30, 2008

The 14th Annual All Japan Challenge took place on August 30, 2008.  The event was sponsored by the Kanto branch of the Japanese Society of Civil Engineers.

Read about the 2008 overall winners here.

Did you know that the first concrete canoe race in Japan took place in Saiko in 1995 (history) and events now take place throughout the country (Japanese venues).

2008 All Japan Concrete Canoe Website

   
Concrete canoes racing in Saiko 2007.

The 2007 All Japan Concrete Canoe Competition took place on August 25, 2007.  Kobe University won the competition followed by Yoshino, Nara Prefectural High School and Kinki University.  The 14th Annual All Japan Challenge will take place on August 30, 2008.  This year's event is sponsored by the Kanto branch of the Japanese Society of Civil Engineers.

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2008 National Concrete Canoe Competition
June 19-21, 2008
Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Nevada, Reno
"Champion of Champions"

The University of Nevada Reno emerged victorious over 21 other teams at the 2008 National Concrete Canoe Competition this past weekend... besting a field which included 4 previous national champions that collectively held 13 of 20 national titles.

ConcreteCanoe.org  -  2008 National Coverage -  ConcreteCanoe.org
(national qualifiers, photos, top picks, judges, race site, links, commentary, etc.)

2008 NCCC Spreadsheet

For the Record - Updated for 2008

"Stories within the story" - Follow Up to "The Front Line."

Unassuming, and unaware that they had just won their first national title, 
Reno's paddling team steps aside to let other Chapter members take "Argentum" for a spin.

For decades to come, these guys can tell their friends and relatives that,
"I was once a national champion."

As their unprecedented 5 year winning streak came to an end,
the Wisconsin "Badgers" posed with "Buckingham" for their final salute.

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2008 Singapore Nationals
Lower Seletar Reservoir (Near Khatib MRT)
May 25, 2008

The first Singapore National Concrete Canoe Competition ended with racing on May 25, 2008.  The event was sponsored by Nanyang Technological University.  Welcome Singapore!

Web Site

Video

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2008 BetonKanoRace
Netherlands
May 16-18, 2008

The 2008 BetonKanoeRace (concrete canoe race) was held on May 16-18, prior to the international fib symposium in Amsterdam.  The event was organized by TU Delft and races were held at the Delftse Hout.  Competitions such as this date back to the early '70s.

Web Site

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ETS Wins 2008 Canadian National Concrete Canoe Competition
Dalhousie University - Halifax, Nova Scotia
May 9-11, 2008

The 2008 CNCCC was hosted by Dalhousie University and held May 9-11, 2008 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Ecole de Technologie Superieure (ETS) squeezed out defending champion, Université de Sherbrooke, and Universite Laval for the Canadian national title.

ETS is the  host of the US 2008 National Concrete Competition and will represent the Upstate New York Conference there.

ETS wins the Canadian National Concrete Canoe Competition with "Toutatis."

      
Universite de Sherbrooke placed second with "Icebreaker."

  
Laval placed third with "Avenger."

Toronto won the design paper, Ecole Polytechnique placed first in the oral presentation, and ETS won the best product.  The scores were really close; races were not held due to high winds.  Ecole Polytechnique will host the 2009 Canadian National Concrete Canoe Competition in Quebec.

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"Wisconsin Wins in Netherlands!
September 7-9, 2007

Congratulations to Wisconsin's Six Pack!

The comments below were secured and paraphrased by ConcreteCanoe.org's webmaster, John Gilbert, while communicating with Wisconsin team member, David Blodgett (video)...

  
The 2007 NCCC Champions (UW-Madison "Badgers") represented the U.S. on September 7-9, 2007 in the Netherlands (see below) and placed first overall!

The width of the sprint course, about 30 feet, required very good control of the canoe to avoid people running into the walls or each-other.  The race start was under a bridge so teams had to duck and could not really paddle.  Half way through the course there was another similar bridge that presented a bit of an overhead obstacle.  A low wall on the right side of the course led to a large field and a much taller wall on the left was bordered by a walkway along the entire length of the course.

The race format was elimination based.  In the first round everyone competed with three boats in the canal at a time.  The winner moved on to the quarter finals.  There was a half final and a final race.  The categories of racing were all tandem (two person) putting Wisconsin's well rounded design... able to handle two, three, or four... at a bit of a disadvantage.  There was a men’s, women's, and coed category.

In their first race, Wisconsin came out from under the bridge slightly behind the other boats.  The team on the far side from them veered left, pushing another boat in the center toward the Badgers who were on the far left.  The Badgers were hit on the right side and pushed toward the wall.  But, after putting on the breaks momentarily, Wisconsin was able to pull behind the other teams to the right, pass them, and take the race decisively.

Most of the rest of the races were similar.  Wisconsin's canoe sustained a large amount of aesthetic damage, but structurally, it faired beautifully.  After a brutal T-Bone in one of the coed races, the team wasn't sure if the side would be cracked from top to bottom but they breathed a sigh of relief after finding that the damage was mostly aesthetic.  Crack propagation was not visible, and the only concrete that broke off was that placed for aesthetic purposes while finishing the canoe.

UW came away with awards for best construction for their design report and general canoe construction; and, best innovation for use of lightweight environmentally sound concrete to achieve great stiffness and strength.  In the races, the Badgers took first in all but the women's endurance which they did not place in.

  A summary of the results for Wisconsin appears below.

Men's 200m 1st place
Women's 200m 1st place
Coed 200m 1st place
Men's 400m 1st place
Women's 400m did not place
Coed 400m 1st place
Construction 1st place
Innovation 1st place
Overall 1st place!

This year's competition was hosted by the University of Twente and run in cooperation with the Netherlands Concrete Association (Betonvereniging).

2007 Beton Kano Race Website

Blog - National Concrete Canoe Competition Travel Log
by
David Blodgett

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2007 Japanese Nationals - 13^th All Japan Challenge
Saiko , Japan
August 25, 2007

   
Concrete canoes racing in Saiko, August 2006.
(Coverage and Video - 13 min... You'll love it!... click on gallery)

 The 13th Annual All Japan Challenge took place recently.  This year's event was sponsored by the Kanto branch of the Japanese Society of Civil Engineers.

2007 All Japan Concrete Canoe Website

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2007 National Concrete Canoe Competition
University of Washington
Seattle, Washington
June 14-16, 2007

Wisconsin "Badgers" Win  Fifth National Title

  
The Badgers did it again!

Continuing their tradition of concrete dominance for the fifth year in a row, the University of Wisconsin-Madison captured the ‘America’s Cup of Civil Engineering’ at the American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) 20th Annual National Concrete Canoe Competition in Seattle.  Wisconsin's technical skills, ingenuity and dedication propelled them to victory in their 19.11-foot-long, 179-pound, natural gray canoe canoe called "Descendent."

2007 Vital Statistics - Boats and Presentations

ConcreteCanoe.org - "2007 NCCC Coverage" - links to official sites, conference qualifiers, racing venue, pre-national photos...  top picks and commentary for 2007 plus photos of boats, questions posed during oral presentations, race coverage, and commentary from the 2007 ASCE National Concrete Canoe Competition in Seattle, WA.

Florida finishes second overall and nearly nips Wisconsin on the pond.
Race points... "Badgers" @ 22.9 points; "Gators" @ 21.9 points

Racing conditions were good under cloudy skies with winds from the Southwest at 10 mph.

The University of Florida paddled into second place overall with the blue, orange and grey, 135-pound, 19.105-foot-long Gladigator; and the University of Nevada, Reno finished a close third with the white and blue, 177-pound, 19.11-foot-long Cerulean... read all about it here.

Co-Ed Final.  From front to back: Michigan Tech (4), Cal Poly-SLO (1), UW-Madison (3), and Florida (2).
Times: Poly 1:14:71; Florida 1:14:81; UW-Madison 1:14:94; Michigan Tech: 1:15:79; UW-Platteville: 1:22:35.

As mentioned in "The Front Line" ... I thought that the Florida Gators would give the Wisconsin Badgers a run for their money on the pond.  So...

The question was: How well will "Gladigator" stack up to "Descendant"?

"A Comparison of Hull Designs"

Twenty-two (22) teams competed in the 2007 National Concrete Canoe Competition.

The Wisconsin "Badgers" strut their stuff on their table top display.

  
The Florida "Gators" place second overall after weighing in (left) and getting a thumbs-up in the flotation test (right).

The University of Nevada-Reno demonstrated their pre-stressing technique on their cross sectional display.  The team placed third overall in the competition.

Western Kentucky who finished fourth overall provides some entertainment during the product judging... with a concrete guitar.

  
 Skye Orvis demonstrated her artistic talents on Cal Poly-SLO's canoe.  She created and stained dozens of individual caricatures on a fiberglass scrim that her team grouted into the bottom of their boat.  Poly finished fifth overall.

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2007 German Nationals - 11^th Deutsche Betonkanu-Regatta
Hanover , Germany
June 15-16, 2007

Every few years, the Federal Association of the German Cement industry (BDZ) in Düsseldorf organizes a special type of spectacular... a concrete canoe regatta.  This year over 90 teams registered and 60 boats competed... with participants coming from a number of other countries including Switzerland and Hungary .

The ingenious craft shown at the left, called the "Drehsden" ("Dreh" is German for rotate) was designed as a paddlewheel and won the open class in 2005.  It currently rests peacefully on the Dresden University campus (center) as a treasured work of art.  But the artist's rendition at the right depicts how "concrete structures may go from the stone age to space age"... and they will... see Team UAH.

     
The action was fierce at the 2007 Germany Nationals (left).  Leipziger won both the men’s and women’s races (right).

Competition Results

Some very interesting entries were showcased in the open class (video) and a photo gallery is on line.  Concrete canoes and their paddlers are being taken very seriously in Germany.  The top three finishers in both the men's and women's races automatically qualified to paddle against the world champions at WM 2007 in  Duisburg, August 8-12, 2007.  With only one year to go before the Summer Olympics (Beijing, August 8-24, 2008), this will be the largest field yet... with teams representing 80 different nations.

  
Concrete canoeists paddle with world champions... Can they qualify for Beijing?

  
Concrete canoes on the Neckar in Heidelberg, June 2005 (Regatta History - Dresden)

2007 Deutsche Betonkanu-Regatta Website 

For translation of other articles into English... try typing the string "Beton Kanu" into your browser and click "translate this page" to the right of the hits when you reach your favorite search engines (Google, Yahoo, etc.).  You'll get a whole new perspective on concrete canoeing.

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Concrete Canoe Racing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

The University of Sharjah, American University of Sharjah, Dubai Men’s College and Abu Dhabi Men’s College participated in the first concrete canoe contest held in UAE at the Hiltonia Beach Club in Abu Dhabi.

Competition Report (PDF)

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Optechnology Moves One Step Closer to Exploring Cementitious "STARS"

Optechnology's Phase II proposal entitled,  " Strategically Tuned Absolutely Resilient Structures," submitted to the Army's Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program, has been awarded.

The company completed Phase I research in conjunction with the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) where Dr. Houssam Toutanji, one of the faculty advisors to the school's ASCE Student Chapter, served as the contact person.  Kirk Biszick, the corporation's chief engineer, notes, "STARS technology was introduced to the concrete canoeing community by Team UAH."

Corporate President and CEO, Dr. John A. Gilbert, explained, "STARS are unique in that their component materials are purposefully stressed and deformed to the largest extent possible to store the maximum amount of potential energy.  The latter may arise as a result of terrorist activities; or, could be purposefully generated by strategically tuning the structure to resonance, then changing boundary conditions as potential energy is converted to work."

According to Andrea Barnes, Optechnology's chief administrative assistant, "During Phase I, we addressed the fundamental relationships between the structure of cementitious composites and their mechanical properties as influenced by composition, processing, environment, stress state, and loading rate.  Consideration was given to damage initiation and progression, failure mechanisms, and life prediction... factors essential for the development of new heterogeneous structural systems." See:

Gilbert, J.A., Ooi, T.K., Biszick, K.R., Marotta, S.A., Vaughan, R.E., Engberg, R.C., "Strategically tuned absolutely resilient structures," Proc. of SEM Annual Conference & Exposition on Experimental and Applied Mechanics, Portland, Oregon, June 7-9, 2005, Paper No. 222, 14 pages.

Optechnology, Inc., located in Huntsville, Alabama, has underwritten ConcreteCanoe.org's domain registration and maintenance costs since this site was launched on August 28, 2001.

Cementitious "STARS" may eventually enhance the performance of things like bionic dolphins.

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Cementitious Composites Targeted for Aerospace Applications

"UAH conducts research to improve aviation safety"  - Congressional set aside awarded to fabricate "smart" aerospace structures from cementitious materials.

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We've reserved this partition for links to announcements of any kind and would like to get one or two schools to volunteer to publish (on the web) a concrete canoe newsletter on their site for ConcreteCanoe.org.

We envision that the host school(s) would write an editorial section and collect information from other organizations.

If you're interested in volunteering, please contact us.  Simply provide an email address to which information should be sent.  We'll make the announcement here, include the link to your newsletter, and give you plenty of credit.  Thanks!

Until we get a volunteer to host the newsletter, please fell free to let us know what your organization is up to and we'll provide a link below.

Typical examples of announcements are:

Joan Buhrman, ASCE, Anthony Reed, "They Are the Champions.  Concrete Canoe Champions, That is. University of California Berkeley Wins National Concrete Canoe Competition" June 13, 2009.

Team UAH - "Concrete Canoe Competition Becomes Part of U.S. Congressional Record" - Washington, D.C., June 28, 2001.

Team UAH - "Alabama State Senate Passes Resolution Commending UAH on Winning an Unprecedented Fifth Concrete Canoe National Championship" - July 12, 2001.