Monday 29 April 2013

F1 in Schools Regional Finals 2013: a resounding success!

All in all, the F1 in Schools Regional Finals in Griffith College on the 8th March were a great success!
The day started off with assembly of our stand and any final preparations to the car like sanding down excess pieces, applying the stickers etc. We reached the venue by bus, and were there early to set up our stand, stick up our posters and set up our PCs and blog display. Also, we received the provisional timetable for the day: when we would be racing, who we would race, and when our verbal presentation would take place were details included.
We were really impressed by all of the other teams, in both the F1 (Senior) and D-Type (Junior) categories. Teams from all corners of the Leinster region were assembled in Griffith College ready to race! The cars varied in size, colour and weight, but all looked in with a chance of progressing to the next round: the national finals.
At the start of the event, all the teachers and students assembled in front of the stage to listen to the address given by one of the chief judges, who introduced us to the judging panel, spoke to us about the timetable of the day and regulations. After wishing us all luck, we hurried back to our stands, to wait for the first race to begin.
Cars were raced two by two, down a long thin track at speeds of up to 110 km/h and more! Each team nominated a member to press the button to launch the car, and their reaction times were tested. The organizers gave each team a few practice runs to allow for nerves! When each member was ready, the race began.
We were visited by the judges, who were all very friendly, several times throughout the day. We were pleased with how we presented our work and spoke about our design. Just before lunch, we were called for our verbal presentation and PowerPoint presentation, which we believed went brilliantly!
We were one of the last teams to race our car, and thankfully all went well: we had no breakages along the way and raced an excellent time!
After a short break in the goings-on, the results were announced! We were bursting with anticipation to find out who had raced the fastest, had the best design, but ultimately who would progress onto the National Finals!
We were thrilled with our result of the team with the best CAD, and the facts we had qualified after all our hard work!

Here's hoping the National Finals in Griffith College will be just as good!

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