Grass Karts from all around the
South Island met in Twizel over the weekend for the annual South
Island Grass Kart Challenge.
“In its sixth year the Grass
Kart Challenge involves secondary school teams over the course of
academic year designing and building their own kart design which is
then raced at the Challenge final” said Glenys McKenzie, Challenge
Team Leader.
The popularity of the Secondary
School Grass Kart Challenge saw 24 teams compete on the day from as
far afield as Nelson and Invercargill. The Master Class, with eight
entries this year, is competed for among teams from various
polytechnics whose Youth Guarantees students build the karts as part
of their coursework.
“Teams are assessed on the
Construction, Appearance, Record Keeping and Performance of their
kart with the points for each category evenly weighted with prize
packages for first, second and third in each category and overall.
We are very appreciative of the support we receive from our sponsors
BOC, Blackwoods Protector, Southern Group Training, SIT, Otago
Polytechnic, EDI and Tools4Work. The prize packages have been put to
good use over the years purchasing equipment for various schools’
technology workshops, and this year are worth $6,150”
Friday night saw the Challenge
Team scrutineering each kart, then judging the Construction and
Appearance Awards.
On the Saturday the very
popular and highly competitive Performance Award was competed for
over a series of sprint and slalom races with the best time being
recorded for each team. In the afternoon a series of relay races
were held to identify the eight fastest karts which raced off in a
quarter final, then final relay. Each team had to complete eight
laps of the track with four driver changes.
“The look of absolute
concentration on the faces of the driver’s and their determination
to do well is rewarding for all concerned.” said Mike Grumball Head
of Trade and Technology at SIT.
The Challenge is designed to
enable young men and women to experience a sample of the work they
may be expected to do in a career in the automotive and engineering
industries. It builds excellent team work, communication and time
management skills with a number of past Grass Kart Challenge student
team members progressing on into apprentices” Glenys McKenzie
confirmed.
The 2013 Grass Kart Challenge entry forms will be available
shortly at www.grasskartchallenge.co.nz