Heavyweight

1988 – 5th Annual Spaghetti Bridge Competition

First World Open Heavyweight Contest

The first World Open Heavyweight Bridge Contest was sponsored by ASTTBC and Canadian Airlines. The mass of the bridge was limited to 750 grams, including loading hardware. Loads were applied for 10 seconds in discrete increments. 27 bridges were entered and tested.

At 47.2 kg (104 pounds) the loading hooks bent straight, making further loading impossible. A first place tie was declared between Rick Jennens and Lincoln Miller. The "Spectacular World of Guiness TV Records" (David Frost) from Los Angeles made a feature on the contest, seen world-wide over the next two years.

1989 – 6th Annual Spaghetti Bridge Competition

Second World Open Heavyweight Contest

U-bolt loading platforms introduced to overcome the problem of hooks unable to bear loads of more than 100 lb (47 kilograms). Four heavyweights including 2 entries by Rick Jennens survived loads of 200 pounds. First place was awarded to Lincoln Miller (supported113.9 kg; 252 lb. load; bridge mass 719.4g).

1990 – 7th Annual Spaghetti Bridge Competition

Third World Open Heavyweight Contest

35 heavyweights were entered. The contest went 12 rounds. Rick Jennens defeated Colin Reece at 100 kg. Jennens' 747 gram bridge survived a load of 120 kg (264 lb) for a new record. Reece credited with second place at 91 kg (200 lb).

1991 – 8 th Annual Spaghetti Bridge Competition

Fourth World Open Heavyweight Contest

26 Heavyweight were entered. After 9 rounds, Colin Reece and Lincoln Miller bridges failed (103 kg./226.6 lb). Both given credit for their best weight held, 92 kg. Rick Jennens asked for permission to challenge his own existing record with one extra load and successfully supported load of 124.4 kg (274 lb).

1992 - 9 th Annual Spaghetti Bridge Competition

Fifth World Open Heavyweight Contest

Ripley's "Believe it or Not" became a co-sponsor after running an international cartoon on the contest (420 newspapers, 17 languages around the world). Ripley's bought previous OUC heavyweight winning bridges for their museums in Mexico City, Copenhagen, Denmark, and Yarmouth, England.

A stunning upset occured, with Bob Williams, a Lumby pastor, inventor and school bus driver entering two bridges. His best bridge, at a mass of 745.3 grams, held a 173.5 kg load (382 lb), while his second-best failed at that level after holding 159 kg. His success partly came form partially cooking and stretching some strands, and from adopting the popular "most functional" underslung configuration.

1993 - 10 th Annual Spaghetti Bridge Competition

Sixth World Open Heavyweight Contest

Bob Williams of Lumby, near Vernon, repeated his feat of '92, with a 741 g. bridge taking a record load of 176 k. (388.2 lb).

1994 - 11th th Annual Spaghetti Bridge Competition

Seventh World Open Heavyweight Contest

A shocker, as defending champion Bob Williams was defeated by former champion Lincoln Miller. Williams' bridge failed at Miller's winning load of 131.7 kilograms. The good news for Williams - his 1993 record still stood, as contest officials chose not to test the winning bridge under greater loads. The World Open has now had two wins each by Miller, Jennens and Williams, with a tie declared between Jennens and Miller in 1988. Sponsorship as in 1993. Sandman Hotels also contributed a Weekend package for two for first prize in the Heavyweight division.

1995 – 12 th Annual Spaghetti Bridge Competition

Eighth World Open Heavyweight Contest

An attempt on the 1993 Heavyweight record load fell short. Record holder Bob Williams of Lumby, BC, missed a chance to surpass his 1993 mark of 176 kilos (388 pounds) at the climax of the event. Defending heavyweight champion Lincoln Miller, who won in 1994 at a load of 131.7 kilos (290 pounds), this year fell to second place. Miller's 1995 entry failed at 119 kg. (262 pounds), leaving Williams' bridge the sole survivor. Williams asked to challenge his existing record. Loaded with 200 kilos (440 pounds), Williams "Flex X" bridge splintered.

Another Lumby, BC contestant, Win Kemper, finished in third place with a load of 99.4 kg (219 pounds). OUC Civil Engineering student Casidy Noble finished in fourth place and had the best student entry.

"We all wanted Bob to have the chance at his 1993 mark, but the jump from 120 kg to 200 is huge," said Garry Gaudet, one of several contest organizers. "The bridge did hold the weight for just a second, but then that awful tearing sound came and it crumbled."

The Heavyweight division had twelve entries. In this division, bridges weighing no more than 750 grams are subjected to increasing loads until just one bridge remains.

1996 - 13 th Annual Spaghetti Bridge Competition

Ninth Open World Heavyweight Contest

This year featured a complete overhaul of Heavyweight rules. The contest became a time-limited, "build on site" competition, to encourage more student entries. Materials were supplied by OUC (eliminating 'homemade' or imported pastas), and required all builders to face the same building and material conditions.

Lincoln Miller gained the top "World Open Heavyweight" contest prize of $500 from the Applied Science Technicians and Technologists of BC for putting together a bridge that took a load of 50 kilos (110 pounds), in five hours of building time. Winning for the third time in eight years, Miller also won a flight for two from Canadian Regional Airlines.

A bridge by defending champion, Bob Williams of Clyde, Alberta, was disqualified for excess weight. When tested, his bridge failed under a 10 kilo load.

OUC Physics students Dorian Boswell and Ryan Meise finished second and third, respectively. Boswell's birdge went out under a 45 kilo load, while Meise was eliminated when his bridge crashed under a load of 24 kilos.

1997 - 14th Annual Spaghetti Bridge Competition

Tenth World Open Heavyweight Contest

1998 - 15 th Annual Spaghetti Bridge Competition

Eleventh World Open Heavyweight Contest

2000 - 17 th Annual Spaghetti Bridge Competition

Twelfth World Open Heavyweight Contest

Bob Williams, who makes his living as pastor of a small church in Clyde, Alberta broke his own record for spaghetti bridge weight bearing with a structure that held just over 180 kilograms. His previous record was 175 kilograms set in 1988. The winning bridge weighed 742 grams.

Bob Williams, center, observes the loading of his record breaking Heavyweight bridge.

2004 – 21st Annual Spaghetti Bridge Competition

First Huber McKenzie Turik Heavyweight Contest

• 1st place ($1,500) - Matyas Kutyik (Budapest, Hungary). Bridge held 256.13 kg
• 2nd place ($1,000) - Hamideh Abolghasemi Riseh (Tehran, Iran). Bridge held 19.17 kg
• 3rd place ($500) - Richard Halley (Sicamous, BC). Bridge held 15.84 kg

2005 – 22nd Annual Spaghetti Bridge Competition

Second Huber McKenzie Turik Heavyweight Contest

• 1st place ($1,500) - Andras Koves (Budapest, Hungary) Bridge held 257.33 kg
• 2nd place ($1,000) - Mark Woodward (Okanagan University College) Bridge held 229.96 kg
• 3rd place ($500) - Balazs Miovacz (Budapest, Hungary) Bridge held 88.69 kg

2006 – 23rd Annual Spaghetti Bridge Competition

HMA Heavyweight Contest

• 1st place ($1,500) - Varga Gyula Balazs (Budapest, Hungary) Bridge held 226.96 kg
• 2nd place ($1,000) - Balazs Vida (Hungary) Bridge held 101.77 kg

Varga and his partner Balazs Milovacz

2007 – 24th Annual Spaghetti Bridge Competition

SNC Lavalin Heavyweight Contest

• 1st place ($1,500) - Bala’zs Botka and Sa’ndor Kurucz (Budapest Polytechnic, Hungary) Bridge held 255.7 kg
• 2nd place ($1,000) - Clint Stibbard (KLO Middle School) Bridge held 12.15 kg

Jim Hamilton, Bala’zs Botka, Sa’ndor Kurucz and Tom Tasaka 



Chris Cleaver, Jim Hamilton, Clint Stibbard and Tom Tasaka 

2008 – 25th Annual Spaghetti Bridge Competition

SNC Lavalin Heavyweight Contest

• 1st place ($1,500) - Bala'zs Botka (Budapest Polytechnic, Hungary) Bridge weighed 994.9 grams and held 352.62 kg
• 2nd place ($1,000) - Norbert Pozsonyi & Aliz Totivan (Szechenyi Istvan University of Gyor, Hungary) Bridge weighed 1000 grams and held 350.67 kg
• 3rd place ($500) - Szilard Markos (Budapest Polytechnic, Hungary) Bridge weighed 997.3 grams and held 310.75 kg 

2009 – 26th Annual Spaghetti Bridge Competition

Heavyweight Contest

• 1st place ($1,500) - Roland Erdosi (College of Nyiregyhaza, Hungary) Bridge weighed 995.8 grams and held 255.63 kg
• 2nd place ($1,000) - Mohammadvali Ashkan, Ghazaleh Omidvar, Ghazaleh Hosseini and Mohammad Mazaheri (ABA University, Iran) Bridge weighed 886.7 grams and held 184.3 kg
• 3rd place ($500) - Sasha Podolchak, Justin Franz, Brad Wall & Spence Costigan (Okanagan College, Kelowna) Bridge weighed 956.9 grams and held 68.43 kg