Engineering on display at Spaghetti Bridge contest

More than 300 students from across the Okanagan paraded their pasta structures on stage on Friday during the 34th annual Spaghetti Bridge contest.

The competition at Okanagan College attracted students of all ages.

From elementary to post-secondary, students brought their engineering skills to a boil and constructed bridges of spaghetti, lasagna noodles and glue that were put to the test in one of four categories.

This year, the highly anticipated Heavyweight competition suffered a setback when the Fettuccine Fault Line (a hydraulic machine that places load on the bridges to test their capacity) malfunctioned, forcing organizers to postpone the event.

With $1,500 of prize money on the line, the event organizers admit postponing the Heavyweight category was a difficult decision, but the right one.

“Rescheduling is disappointing, but the integrity of the competition must be held to the highest standard,” said head judge, Dr. Andrew Hay, Vice President Education for the College. “It’s important for the students to know their hard work is taken seriously, so we must ensure their bridges are tested accurately using the proper equipment.”

The testing equipment is being analyzed and repaired, and all five competitors will be invited back to the College to battle for top honours in the Heavyweight category.

The other competitions do not use the same testing equipment and were carried out without a hitch.

In the ASTTBC Secondary Competition category, in which students pre-build bridges for on-site testing, two brothers from Charles Bloom in Lumby swept the top two spots, with third place going to students from KLO Middle.

In the ASTTBC Team Building Secondary Competition, students battled the clock to build bridges on site and under pressure.

The winners of that contest were from King’s Christian School in Salmon Arm with second place going to KLO Middle and Constable Neil Bruce Middle finishing third.

Five teams participated in the ASTTBC Team Building Post-Secondary Competition.

Okanagan College students Raelyn Guenther, Megan Roeske, Darren Joyce, and Brett Siebert were the lone victors, taking first place with the only bridge entry that passed the testing requirements.

“Today’s competition was packed with energy and enthusiasm,” said Hay. “I was impressed by the bridges I saw today and that is a testament to the efforts of these talented students.”