June 2020 Newsletter
The University of Toronto Concrete Toboggan team is starting to ramp up for this competition season! Our design and spirit leads have been selected and have already started preparing for GNCTR 2021.
MEET OUR LEADS
Our Co-Captains
| Georgia Collins |  |
Elisabeth Gagnon |  |
Our Design Team
| Manufacturing Lead:
Leah McLeod-Demers |
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Steering Lead:
Bobby Graydon |
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| Braking Lead:
Rob Peri |
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Integration Lead:
Andrew Zhang |
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| Concrete Co-Leads:
Nathan Rzepka (Left) Dawit Yoseph (Right) |
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| Shell Design Lead:
John Peri |
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Shell Fabrication Co-Leads:
Kevin Dryden (Left) Armin Kusmic (Right) |
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Our Spirit Team
| Theme Lead:
Nisha Malik |
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Spirit Co-Captains:
Kat Sheppard (Left) Kally Van Mulligen (Right) |
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| Sponsorship Lead:
Lindsay Wells |
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Tech Ex Co-Leads:
Aseer Chowdhury (Left) Liam Marengere (Right) |
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Our spirit team has been hard at work brainstorming and developing our team theme for GNCTR 2021. We developed a list of around 100 ideas and have now narrowed it down to 10. The theme lead is now developing techniques in order to determine the best theme possible. We are also in the process of designing stickers to be given at the University of Toronto’s space themed engineering orientation this year in order to spread the word about our design team to incoming students.
DESIGN
Our design leads have begun the design process by breaking their systems down into their functions and their objectives. Design requirements for the toboggan as a whole were then selected; this year our primary goals include: innovation, sustainability, and modularity. The next step will be to compare the candidate designs developed for the shell, steering, braking, and concrete systems based on the design requirements. Our manufacturing lead has also started writing a “How to Build a Toboggan” guide with tips and tricks our team has picked up over the years.
ADAPTING TO COVID 19
Our team has continued to prepare for GNCTR 2021 even with the current pandemic. We have been hosting
weekly meetings on Zoom, alternating the focus on spirit and design biweekly. Additionally, our Spirit
Captains have been planning socials on Zoom to maintain team morale during these difficult times while
also helping with team bonding!