2002 Concrete Canoe Team
Concrete canoe races date back to the late1960's. Both the University of Illinois - Urbana and the University of California - Berkeley claim they held the first ASCE regional competitions in the early 1970's. In 1988 the Concrete Canoe became a National Competition, sponsored by ASCE and Master Builders, Inc.
The objectives of the national competition are:
 | To challenge civil engineering students to apply engineering principles in designing and racing a concrete canoe; |
| To reinforce the ASCE Student Chapter/Club Program; |
| To aid in the professional development of young civil engineers; |
| To build camaraderie among ASCE Student Chapters/Clubs, educators and practitioners; |
| To build awareness of ASCE's and Master Builders' commitment to civil engineering education; |
| To increase awareness of concrete technology, application and innovation. |
Winners from each of 20 regional competitions, as well as additional second-place qualifiers, travel to the National Competition for a weekend designed to be both challenging and fun. In the National Competition, seventy percent of the total team score is based on the engineering design and construction principles used, a technical paper, an oral presentation and a display. The remainder is based on the performance of the canoe and the paddlers in five different race events: Men's Distance, Women's Distance, Men's Sprint, Women's Sprint, and Co-Ed Sprint.
The University of California, Berkeley has performed well in the competition for a number of years. In fact, Berkeley has four National titles under its belt. Although we have been having some difficulties in the past few years, we are now getting stronger and more competitive than ever. Last year we came first in the Regional Competition and ninth in the National Competition. This year we are working hard and we are confident we will do even better.
