Concrete Boat Race Day 2011

Inland Branch

Report back

Another very successful Annual Concrete Boat Race was held at the Victoria Lake Boat Club in Germiston on 17th September 2011, which was attended by more

than 1400 concrete enthusiasts and their families. Conditions for 'paddling' were a little chilly to start, but fortunately the clouds cleared for most of the racing.

This event has become the highlight of the Inland Branch event calendar in the year and is drawing interest from not only the local members, but also from

overseas organisations either running, or planning to run, similar events. The day is organised into three main sections. Firstly, the judging of the university

students boats which have been constructed as part of their study curriculum, and aimed at testing their knowledge of project management and

concrete technology. This year saw 48 boats registered and four judges were recruited to cope with the large number. These were:

The construction of the boats had to be carried to very strict criteria, the most important of which is that they must float! The boats must be made from a freely

available, commonly-used cement, mortar or concrete. Lightweight aggregate may be used. The binding agent must be predominantly cementitious in composition.

Limited quantities of other materials are allowed, provided that they do not replace the binding action of the cement. The strength and stiffness of the boat must

be entirely due to the cementing action between hardened concrete or mortar and its reinforcement. Non-concrete parts are not allowed to contribute to the

strength or structural integrity of the boat and may be removed at the judges' discretion.

The prize winners in the construction category were as follows:

 Secondly, there was the racing of the concrete boats not only constructed by the students, but also members of the cement and concrete industry. The races

were designed as relays with four ‘paddlers’ per single seat boat.

Lastly, there was the prize-giving for the students’ construction awards and for the winners and runners up in the various categories of boat racing (students,

industry men, and industry ladies

The prize winners in the racing were:

The day attracted a record number of participating companies and in his closing remarks, the Inland Branch Treasurer, Johan Delport, thanked the organising

committee, the industry, sponsors, lecturers and students for their continuing support of this now prestigious event on the Inland Branch calendar.

The racing was as competitive as ever, and the results are shown in the table below. Prizes took the form of medals this year which were well-received by

all the recipients. A special award was presented to Deon Kruger from the University of Johannesburg for being the lecturer that registered the greatest number

of students and boats.

The Inland Branch would like to thank all the Sponsors for the 2011 Boat Race Day! To view the list of Sponsors click here