Thursday, 13 September 2007
Competition on a Global Scale
Earlier this week, I returned from a brief trip to the Netherlands to show my support of the University of Wisconsin-Madison's efforts at the 30th Anniversary BetonKanoRace at the University of Twente in Enschede. This year marked the 20th anniversary of our formal concrete canoe competition and for the first time, the winner of the U.S. competition traveled to Enschede to compete internationally.
From day-one of the competition, both the Madison team and I discovered some major differences between the U.S. and Dutch competitions. First of all, while the U.S. competition has a 70-page guidebook outlining rules and regulations, the Dutch competition rules are outlined in only two pages! Also, the Madison canoe weighed a good 100 pounds more than many of the other canoes. While the lighter canoes tended to get a faster start, the Madison canoe required a bit more energy at the beginning of the race to overcome inertia and get it going. Another interesting aspect of this race was the lack of lanes in the water. This made it easy for boats to travel all over the water in sort of a "bumper car" fashion. At one point, a Dutch canoe collided with the Madison canoe and accidentally almost knocked one of the Madison students out of her canoe!
All in all, I had a great time at the competition and was pumped up just being around these enthusiastic and energetic students. I'm happy to say that despite the differences, the University of Wisconsin-Madison team took first place overall, with victories in five out of the six race categories. I believe that the key to their success was their ability to have a competitive strategy and operate or control their canoe, which goes to show that when you are focused, dedicated, determined and have a vision, your goals are within your reach. Events like these are invaluable and offer a great out-of-the-classroom experience for civil engineering students, and in particular, these races offered a unique opportunity to compete on an international level. All of which, I believe, helps prepare you to succeed throughout your career in civil engineering.
Which out-of-the-classroom experiences have helped shape your path in the civil engineering profession? Which skills did these experiences help you develop which served you well in the latter stages of your career?