Things are all settled here in Madison as the 2012-13 season has come to a close. Here is a recap of the year at the competitions:
Regionals 2013: Trine University
We officially took 3rd place overall at Trine in one of the most competitive competitions in recent memory. Purdue took the gold with MSOE close behind in second and us right on their heels in 3rd. We place 1st in Structural Efficiency and Lightness by a good margin, 2nd in stiffness, and 3rd in Construction Economy and Construction Time. With these places we knew we had to put in the time and dedication to improve before the trip out to Seattle for the NSSBC National Competition.
On to Seattle! After a 28 hour drive over the course of 3 days, we rolled into the city ready to explore Pike’s Place Market, the Space Needle and other sites around the city. On Friday we set up our bridge outside in a beautiful square right in the heart of campus and thanks to a clear sunny day, our buffing looked superb. On Saturday we competed alongside 45 other schools from across the nation (and continent too).
2013 Nationals Breakdown: University of Washington-Seattle
Alright here’s the deal with nationals: we placed 25th overall after some disagreement with the rules committee. Long story short, there was not a proper way to test whether a connection was in contact with another connection leading to a disagreement. Thus, we were penalized in 5 spots for a violation resulting in our bridge to have an additional 125 lbs added to the total (78.4 lbs by the way, not too shabby). Which was really unfortunate overall. We had our best construction run EVER at the competition…basically unheard of. We would have placed 1st overall in Structural Efficiency and 4th overall with all other metrics in place.
Disappointing to say the least, but it was an oversight on our part which we can only blame ourselves for. A learning experience for all of you future badge bridge team members! We had a fantastic time in Washington though as you can see with some of the pictures we have uploaded, and we will never forget the memories made in 2013 with Steel Bridge.
Overall: 25th Place
Weight: 78.4
Deflection: 0.704″
Construction Speed: 6:23 minutes