Concrete Canoe Team Competes in Regional Conference

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The Ohio State Concrete Canoe team receives a visit from Coach Thad Matta (center) before the team leaves for the regional conference on Friday, April 15 at the University of Akron. The canoe, the Matta Armada, follows the team tradition of naming the canoe after an Ohio State leader.
The Ohio State Concrete Canoe team is making a splash at the Ohio Valley Regional Competition sponsored by The University of Akron. The competition begins Friday, April 15 and is one of several regional conferences that lead to the American Society of Civil Engineers’ National Concrete Canoe competition in June.

The competition requires teams from various schools to develop and race a concrete canoe made from ASCE specified sustainable materials. Each year the Ohio State team develops a different design with sustainable materials, aggregates and mix design to create an innovative concrete canoe.

The goal of the entire process is to make the canoe float as well as race it against other schools. The canoe will be judged by the outcome of men’s, women’s and co-ed races as well as the design paper, display, presentation, and technical and aesthetic aspects of the canoe.

The Ohio State team began the project in October and spent months creating the best mix design with sustainable materials. The entire process was a challenge as the team performed countless tests on the materials and design aspects to make sure the canoe could float while maintaining ASCE material specifications.

“The most difficult aspects of the design process are finding materials that are innovative and sustainable, developing a mix design that meets all the requirements and desired characteristics, and coming up with creative new ideas,” says Frederick Cruz, a senior in civil engineering and a team captain.

Even though the team uses different designs each year, one aspect of the design process has remained the same. The theme of the canoe is always related to an Ohio State leader, such as Coach Jim Tressel’s “Tressel Vessel” and President Gordon Gee’s “Bowtie Bond.” This year, the team decided to honor Coach Thad Matta by naming the canoe the “Matta Armada.”

“This year with the basketball team having a promising team, we decided to name the canoe as an ode to Coach Matta and his efforts leading the basketball team to perennial successes,” Cruz says. “This year’s basketball team had high hopes and went through the season with only three losses, so we used Armada as a way to capture the nautical nature of the competition and how the team sailed through the season, defeating almost every opponent.”

Like Gee and Tressel before him, Matta visited the team to show his support and sign the canoe.

“It really meant a lot to the team that he was able to stop by and we really appreciated the opportunity to spend some time with him.” Cruz says. “It’s nice to know that the sports coaches are willing to support the academic teams just as we support the athletic teams.”

The supportive sendoff by Coach Matta only strengthens the team’s resolve to sweep the competition and qualify for the National Competition.

“For competition, the overall goal is win!” Cruz says.


Category: College