WHY BRAVE THE COLD
NB Igloo Competition Wants More Students Involved
GRAND FALLS, NB—The Northwestern Branch of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of New Brunswick (APEGNB) are re-building their Guinness world record igloo as part of the third annual APEGNB Igloo Building Competition February 13 to 15 on Ouellette Road in Grand Falls. This year, organizers are hoping to get more student participation.
Event organizer, Eric Ouellette, P.Eng., said last year’s world record igloo captured the fascination of people everywhere. “We’re going to give people a second chance to see the largest self-supporting dome igloo in the world. And we hope to get more young people excited about getting involved.”
The 2009 igloo is being rebuilt to the exact specifications of the original world record igloo. Production of thousands of ice blocks is currently underway. The ice blocks will be used to re-create the igloo that will measure 7.9 m (25 ft 9 in) in diameter and 4.2 m (13 ft 8 in) in height.
Last year, the competition’s university scholarships were available only to New Brunswick high school students planning on enrolling into an engineering program within the province. “To encourage participation from students already enrolled in engineering, we decided to open the scholarships to university students as well.”
Two $1500 (total $3000) scholarships will be made available to one high school and one university student. “Participating in the APEGNB Igloo Building Competition will greatly improve a student’s chance of earning our scholarships,” says Ouellette. More details and eligibility requirements for each scholarship are available at www.iglooocompetition.ca under “About our competition”.
In addition to the world record igloo, the 2009 APEGNB Igloo Building Competition will also be able to accommodate up to 40 teams of igloo builders vying for the coveted APEGNB igloo trophy. The four-member teams will have the weekend of February 13th to build their own igloo using only traditional and environmentally friendly tools like snow spades and saws. One team will also win a participation prize of $500 during Sunday’s closing ceremonies.
Again this year, igloos will be judged using a scoring system. Teams are encouraged to familiarize themselves with it in order to stand a chance of winning. Categories include:
- Construction (e.g., minimum/maximum dimensions, shape, etc.)
- Strength (must support the weight of at least one large truck tire)
- Aesthetics (to be determined by public voting process)
- Safety
High school and university teams can register for $100. Registration fee for all other teams is $200 and can be conveniently done on the website. The winning team will have their names engraved on the base of a dazzling, illuminated crystal trophy. In addition to bragging rights, the individual team members will receive a 1st, 2nd or 3rd place medallion.
Visitors are encouraged to drop by Ouellette Road during the competition to tour the site, check out the igloos under construction, vote for their favourite igloo and meet Ron Turcotte--the world-famous jockey from Drummond, NB with over 3000 professional career wins. He rode Secretariat to the first US Triple Crown in 25 years.
In conjunction with the Igloo Building Competition, APEGNB and the Town of Grand Falls will also be hosting a series of sporting and other community events as part of the Town’s winter festival. There will be a snow tunnel, horse sleigh rides, snow sculptures, bonfire and more. Horse sleigh rides will be free for kids and families on Saturday and Sunday. The new competition venue is conveniently located next to the New Brunswick trail system—allowing snowmobilers to sled directly into the fun.
There will be an APEGNB Igloo Kids Colouring Contest for Grades 1 to 6 in five local-area schools. Prizes sponsored by the Grand Falls shopping centre will be awarded to the winners.
“We believe the APEGNB Igloo Building Competition is a great way for families to understand how engineering impacts their everyday life in ways they never think about,” says Ouellette. “We’re also hoping to inspire children to pursue careers in engineering. The igloo is one impressive example of how imagination and ingenuity can solve a practical problem.”
Future and current engineers, families and corporate citizens are all invited to join in this one-of-a-kind community event that will raise money for engineering scholarships.
“We encourage everybody to visit our website under the sponsors and volunteers links to see the impressive community involvement and sponsors we have partnered with over the years.”
To download team registration forms, or for more information on the APEGNB Igloo Building Competition and the world record igloo, visit the official website at www.igloocompetition.ca
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