Western Kentucky University’s chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers participates in the ASCE Concrete Canoe Competition every year.
This year, the WKU team dedicated their canoe to the Kentucky Derby.
The competition provides engineering students the opportunity to gain practical experience while testing their engineering skills, hydrodynamic design, and racing techniques.
The annual senior regional symposium hosts 12 teams from around Indiana and Kentucky. This year’s competition was held at Purdue University Northwest.
Students showcase their canoes with a presentation, a display of how they built their boat, and a racing element where the team paddles the boats in water.
Students were unable to paddle this year due to weather conditions.
WKU’s ASCE chapter has spent a year building their concrete canoe and learning how to make it as strong as possible.
They made over 30 concrete mixes to find the perfect one.
The team named the canoe “Horsepower” in honor of the 150th anniversary of the Kentucky Derby. The canoe features 150 red roses and horses racing around the inside of the boat.
Senior Isabel Gray says the team spoke with the CEO of Churchill Downs while he was on WKU's campus, and he loved their idea.
“He actually was really excited to come and see the canoe and when he got here, he was blown away at the work that we were doing and how passionate we were about this Kentucky tradition and Kentucky education as well,” Gray said.
After the visit, the team connected with Churchill Downs and used more specific Derby branded items for their project.
“They’ve allowed us to work with their logos and it has just been really encouraging to see how we’ve been able to market our project with their help,” Gray explained.
The team won first place in the regional competition and will be participating in the upcoming national competition this summer. The championship will be held in Utah at Brigham Young University from June 19-22.