Despite its triangular cut and circular shape resembling the typical Frisbee, this concrete Frisbee is no standard plastic Wham-O Flying Disc.
Despite its pristine craftsmanship and artistic, multicolored exterior, the concrete canoe’s seemingly paradoxical concept draws the most attention.
Concrete is typically meant for stabilizing structural foundations, not for being hurled between two targets nor for mobilizing four rowers during a timed aquatic race.
But nothing is really standard when it comes to UCLA engineering students, who are part of UCLA’s American Society of Civil Engineers Student Chapter. Concrete canoe and concrete Frisbee construction ““ as well as concrete bowling ““ are sponsored by the UCLA-ASCE, a student-run organization that provides benefits such as career fairs, field trips, workshops and sporting and social events. .
“Building this canoe is a yearlong process. Next year’s project leaders are chosen midway through spring quarter and start planning the design and construction of the canoe then. Construction starts zero week fall quarter and is a very time-consuming, labor-intensive process; sometimes we even have to work during winter and spring break,” said Matt Runyan, a second-year civil engineering student and an incoming concrete Frisbee and bowling project manager.
Yet the collaboration and work ethic among the club members most clearly manifests itself during the annual ASCE Pacific Southwest Regional Conference, held this past April at the University of Hawai’i, Manoa. The conference hosted multiple competitions ““ among them steel bridge design, surveying and water purification processes ““ among 17 universities in the form of civil engineering projects.
One of the main attractions was the concrete canoe competition, which allowed its student designers to compete in a men’s, women’s and co-ed sprint and long-distance race.
“To race in the canoe is incredibly rewarding. It is very fulfilling and exciting to compete against other schools from around the southwest United States. I absolutely love racing, and to have built the canoe with my peers is so cool,” Runyan said.
The durability of the canoe’s construction ““ weighing 151 pounds, having a thickness of half an inch, and reaching 20 feet long ““ allowed the rowers to grab the first-place title for overall race performance, a feat that hadn’t happened for UCLA in 10 years.
Last year the team placed second overall, earning a bid to nationals and placing ninth of 22 total teams.
“Last year we didn’t expect to do well, and we did. So this year we did expect to do well. There is a lot more people, a lot of young blood,” said Juan Zuniga, a fourth-year civil engineering student and outgoing concrete canoe assistant project manager.
To prepare for their races, crew members rowed using retired concrete canoes for practice every Sunday at Marina del Rey.
In addition to the weekly water workouts, the racing team held land practices, which included a regimen of weight lifting and endurance workouts.
“It’s hard to practice because you’re training all year for one race. … There’s also lot of prep for the summer, a lot of research and finding companies to give donations, so we have to get ready this quarter,” said Sharon Liu, a fourth-year civil engineering student and an outgoing concrete canoe project manager.
Based on a designated prototype given by the conference host, canoes are judged based on quality of design and construction, the presentation of the project, and the race results.
UCLA’s canoe created its prototype from a male mold made of Styrofoam and plywood, with its fundamental construction consisting of alternating layers of concrete mixture and fiberglass.
Another concrete attraction, normally distinguished by separate categories of concrete bowling and Frisbee categories, combined elements of both game pieces to instead honor the traditional Hawaiian, croquet-like game of Ulu Maika.
Having been informed of the new protocol, the UCLA concrete Frisbee and bowling teams combined their efforts to create their Ulu Maika piece.
“”˜Fusion’ was the theme we came up, because it symbolized how Frisbee and bowling had come together; it also symbolizes concrete, and how different materials mix together with cement,” said Benji Baker, a third-year civil engineering student and outgoing project manager for concrete Frisbee.
A slightly convex, round disc that is thick at the center and narrow at the circumference, the Ulu Maika game stone is rolled by four team members along a course distinguished by multiple markers set 30 to 40 yards apart.
As for the game piece itself, the mix design consisted of a large and small aggregate, White Portland cement, and a blue metal oxide pigment to provide coloration. Weighing in at 180 grams, it had a 3-inch diameter and 1-inch thickness.
“Going into the competition we had a good idea of what materials to use because we had two previous project managers (on the team). … We normally can use lightweight components in the aggregate for the Frisbee; this year, since we were doing a bowling (game), we wanted the disc to be as solid, heavy and dense as possible,” Baker said.
Membership is open to students, and team members are recruited especially during Welcome Week.
“I like the practical, hands-on approach (of the club). … There are a lot of great opportunities to network, to build community and relationships with others students outside the classroom, and to go beyond theories we learn in class,” Baker said.