OCNews

A near record-breaking performance put forth by students Bala’zs Botka and Sa’ndor Kurucz of Budapest Polytechnic saw them win first place in the heavyweight competition at Okanagan College’s 24^th annual Spaghetti Bridge competition, sponsored by SNC-Lavalin Inc.

The bridge, which was partially built in Hungary and flown in components which were assembled in Kelowna, weighed 984.4 grams and held 255.7 kilograms before collapsing. The Hungarians’ performance left them 2 kilograms shy of a new world record in the competition – the record currently stands at 257.33 kilograms and was set by one of their fellow students in 2005.

A technical error disqualified the second team from Hungary, paving the way for Clint Stibbard of KLO Middle School, to place second in the competition with a bridge that weighed 981.8 grams and held 12.15 kilograms. Stibbard received an award of $1,000 for his accomplishment while the winning team earned $1,500.

Elsewhere in the Secondary School teambuilding competition, first place was captured by KLO Middle School team members Brad Reinholz, Hayden Kannigan, Stefan Autio and Daniel Hawtree. In second place were, Evan Hagerty, Josh Norman and Chris Johnston from Gold River Secondary School. Third place went to Shuswap Middle School students Shane Danyluk, Tyler Bolduc, Kristina Laitinen and Patricia Matys.

Students from Okanagan College dominated the Post Secondary team competition placing first, second and third. Lorant Marton, Damian Kusiak, Kari Gronvold and Tyler Smith finished in first place while Jason Manning, Naomi Perreault, Tom Tribe and Brian Parke placed second. In third spot were Adam Elliot, Scott Stephen, Erik Haynshi and Caley Leimert.

In the individual Secondary School competition Brad Reinholz of KLO Middle School won first place. Hayden Kanigan, also of KLO Middle School took second place and Mike Mace, Tera Graves, Kaylee Burke and Travis Fischer placed third.

"We are proud to host this tremendous competition," says Okanagan College President Jim Hamilton. "It offers a great opportunity to introduce students to the principles of science and technology in the context of a really fun event."

More than 300 competitors took part in this year’s event, including an array of elementary students who showcased their creativity in the bridges they built for display.

This was the first year SNC-Lavalin Inc. sponsored the heavyweight division of the competition. Longtime Spaghetti Bridge supporter ASTTBC sponsored the individual and teambuilding competitions. Other sponsors of the event included: Monashee Manufacturing, Blair Sportswear, Multi-Power Products Ltd., Save On Foods, EBA, Northside Industries, Formashape, Stantec, Okanagan College Student Union, Okanagan College Faculty Association, Okanagan Precision Machine Ltd., West Manufacturing Ltd., Fender’s Autobody and Paint, and APEG (Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of BC).