Fairmont State ASCE Concrete Canoe Team places first at regional competition

Last weekend, Fairmont State’s American Society of Civil Engineers student chapter swept the concrete canoe competition at the ASCE Virginias Regionals Symposium hosted by Marshall University. 

In addition to taking home the overall team title, Fairmont also earned first-place in each of five races as well as the following categories: technical proposal, project presentation and final product.

“This has been an exceptional weekend for the student chapter,” said Tabitha Lafferre, Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering Technology and ASCE Student Chapter Faculty Advisor. “The students truly put their heart, blood, sweat and tears in to this year-long project.”

The ASCE Virginias Regionals Symposium provides students from schools across West Virginia and Virginia a chance to gain valuable hands-on experience by competing in many engineering-related competitions. For the concrete canoe competition in particular, students must follow strict rules that dictate the contents of the concrete matrix in building the canoe and, of course, the vessel must float, to be eligible to compete in the races. The canoe entered in this year’s competition, named “Black Diamond,” is a tribute to coal miners and West Virginia's status as a top coal producer in the country. 

According to Lafferre, this marks the 18th regional level win for Fairmont State. The team will now move on to the national concrete canoe competition at the ASCE Civil Engineering Student Championship hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Platteville from June 10 to 12.

“The team always has a goal of placing in the top 10 overall,” said Lafferre. “Even though the regional symposium is over, they'll continue practicing paddling until the last day of the spring semester.”

To help fund the trip, the Fairmont State ASCE student chapter will hold an elimination dinner, open to the entire community, at the Knights of Columbus on Mary Lou Retton Drive from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Friday, May 5th. The dinner will include a buffet-style meal, historical presentation, keynote address, canoe display, gift basket raffles and a $1,000 cash prize. 

“If you're not familiar with the ASCE student chapter or concrete canoe team, I'd encourage you to come out and meet the current team as well as all the alumni that will be attending,” said Lafferre. “It’s quite an amazing legacy to see in one room.”

Registration for the elimination dinner is available now through Friday, April 29 at https://www.fsufoundation.org/concrete-canoe-benefit-dinner.

ASCE Concrete Canoe Team