2004 National Concrete Canoe Competition
 

NCCC News
Last Updated: June 28, 2004


University of Wisconsin-Madison wins 17th Annual National Concrete Canoe Competition hosted by Catholic University in Washington, DC

It's time to welcome Bucky to the "back-to-back" club.  U of Wisconsin-Madison is just the fourth team in 17 years to win consecutive national championships. It was a close competition after the three academic events were complete, with UW just a few points ahead of Alabama -Huntsville. But Bucky got his groove on in the races, finishing third, and at the end of the day it was not even close. UW won by over twenty points!     

The upper-tier teams at nationals that make the least amount of avoidable mistakes will win future competitions. .

Clemson will be hosting the NCCC in  2005. But the BIG story for next year is "Can Wisconsin win its third consecutive national championship?" Four times previously in NCCC history has a team come into the NCCC with back-to-back titles.  No team has ever won three consecutive titles.  

Here's the unofficial coverage for the 2003 NCCC :

  • Commentary - For the first time in TEN years I was not able to attend this year's event. Hopefully, I can pick up the 411 from some of you who did attend.

  • Scores - (updated Jun 28) competition points earned and rank for each academic and race event ... team scores for each event and race times are not yet available. 

Other Recommended "ConCan" Resources

Previous Years at the NCCC - includes scoring, reviews, and pictures from past competitons.

 

 

 

3CT News
Last Updated: June 23, 2004

WASHINGTON, DC - Clemson Concrete Canoe Team (3CT) places fourth
at the 17th ASCE/MBT National Concrete Canoe Competition (NCCC)

Clemson finished an impressive fourth place, capturing a 7th, 5th and 5th in academics and taking four of five races!  Year after year there seems to be no drop in talent and commitment among the Clemson students and faculty. With its record twelfth consecutive appearance at nationals, and its seventh straight top-five finish, Clemson is arguably the most successful program in the country.

But there is definitely room for improvement in 2005. NC State is a very strong challenger every year in the Carolinas' regional, and UW, Laval and UAH all bested 3CT at nationals in 2004.

It appears that a few avoidable mistakes cost 3CT some serious points and dropped them a few spots in Design Paper and Finished Product categories.  3CT was not alone as several teams made similar mistakes. Suffice to say, the rules are now making it critical that teams pay closer attention to ASTM and ASCE standards.  This can only be done by having a Quality Assurance (QA) process manager in place whose job it is to read, understand, communicate, and INSURE ALL SPECIFICATIONS ARE MET. With the races now just 25% of total competition points, more attention needs to be placed on QA for concrete design and construction (including finishing).

Clemson now has twelve consecutive national appearances (1993-2004).  The record for the most total appearances at nationals is 14, held by Virginia Tech.  

The 3CT women paddlers won two of their three races (including co-ed) this year.  The one loss stops the consecutive winning streak at four competitions (12 races).  Now sporting a record of 18-3 over the past seven years, Clemson women's paddling program is the most successful in the history of the NCCC. 

I've got to give props to the men's paddling team, though.  The 3CT men swept all three of their races.

Thanks
Thanks to the University, College of Engineering, the Department of Civil Engineering, great faculty advisors, and of course, every student and parent who sacrifices his and her time and resources or supports these efforts in any way.

3CT Hall of Fame

  • Serji Amirkhanian - 3CT faculty advisor since, well, forever!  Serji has two rules - do your best, and keep your mouth shut - and as a result of this Clemson University is one of the most respected and well-liked schools each year among its peers at the NCCC - not to mention one of the most successful in NCCC history with three national titles in five years.

  • Brad Putman - unprecedented successes at Clemson in concrete canoe competitions. In Brad's five years as a registered member at nationals, he led Clemson through its most successful concrete canoe era. With three national titles in four years, a second and third place finish, in addition to his civil engineering knowledge, Brad demonstrated a unique leadership, coaching, and mentoring skill and led by example - making significant contributions to both the academic and racing aspects of the competition.

  • 3CT women paddlers since 1998.  These women have combined to win nearly 90% of their races.  They deserve great respect, appreciation, and recognition from not only the Clemson student body, but also the alums (including non-Civils :)

  • Every team member, student, parent, and supporter who has made a contribution to 3CT in the form of time, resources, materials, funding, beverages, or food!

3CT Accomplishments at NCCC -
Spanning the last six national competitions, Clemson:

  • has finished top ten in each of the twenty-six academic categories including twenty top fives, six being first place.
  • has won the overall academic portion of the competition twice (1999 and 2000)
  • has won the overall race portion of the competition six times (1998, 2000- 2004)
  • women's paddling teams have won eighteen of their twenty-one races (including co-ed races)
  • men's paddling teams have won sixteen of their twenty-one races (including co-ed races)
  • has swept the races three times (1998, 2000, and 2002)
  • has won five-straight Co-Ed races, and since this race was introduced in 1997, 3CT has won six of eight    

The Clemson Concrete Canoe Team (3CT) web site has been covering the NCCC since 1995. We hope that it is a great experience for the 3CT faithful, folks from all the schools who have participated in a regional or national competition, and for those out there scratching their heads and wondering "what the heck is a concrete canoe!". While you will see the familiar 3CT logos at the top of many pages, over half of this web site is dedicated to providing statistics, history, scoring breakdowns, highlights, reviews and pictures for schools other than Clemson. Links are also provided from our site to other schools' canoe sites as well as to the web sites for ASCE and Master Builders (official organizer and sponsors of the National Concrete Canoe Competition).

If you'd like to contact the team send an email to 3CT and show your support.

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