Special Events - The 3rd ASPE Chapter-to-Chapter Grand Prix - How Fast Can it Go?

Now, nothing mixes better with wine, beer, soft drinks, snacks, and politics than some good ol’ horse racing. Well, we don’t have the horse racing, but down in the main hall area, we are planning to have the “How Fast Can It Go?” contest.

For those of you who have no idea what we are talking about, it is the 3rd ASPE Grand Prix (visit Rules & Regulations for more information). This is the event where chapters compete against each other to design and build a vehicle that represents a device or item used in plumbing engineering or the plumbing industry—and then to see what it can do on the track. Be sure to make time to cheer on your fellow chapter members as they compete.

The last time this race was held was at the 2006 ASPE Convention, and there were 31 initial chapter entries. In order to get everyone an equal chance, we have a little bit of an ASPE shortened version of double elimination races that will start on Saturday, October 30, 2010, at about 5:30 pm. The final eliminations will be on Monday at about 6:15 pm or following the last technical program sessions, in the same place. If necessary there will be final runoffs on Tuesday, November 2, 2010, that will start following the technical programs on Tuesday and end no later than one hour later so everyone can get ready for the Tuesday night banquet.

We’re just getting started on the logistics, so it’s not to late for any chapter to get involved. Remember, THIS IS JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT! (Actual race times may change, and types of races may be adjusted to account for Convention and Exposition hours and programs.)

Yes, there will be prizes, four of them. There will be two BIG prizes: one for chapters with 100 or less members and one for chapters with more than 100 members. The chapter will have its choice of an appropriate prize valued at about $1,500, such as a digital projector or technical program speaker for a chapter meeting or other educational program (ASPE will pay travel and honoraria of speaker for a total not to exceed $1,500 for one event only) or another prize that will benefit the whole chapter.

There will also be prizes for the craftsmanship of the vehicles. The vehicles will be put on display on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, and all attendees will have a chance to
vote for their choice for originality, craftsmanship, and appearance.

Some of the other entries

The race track is approximately 100 feet long and starts about 12 feet off the ground. Starter volunteers are welcome!

Get official rules, policies, procedures and a Grand Prix Parts Kit. Have your chapter president contact Richard Albrecht, official race timer. Must include your (chapter president's) name, chapter name, chapter president's email address, your phone number and your shipping address: ralbrecht@aspe.org; Fax: (847) 296-2963; Telephone: (847) 296-0002.

Rules and Regulations

Please click here to download rules and regulations (one page, PDF).

Back to the Convention home page