Editor’s note: Nicholson and Janisse are both Civil Engineering Technology students. Janisse is the GNCTR club president.
In the early weeks of February, while athletes from across Canada began their events in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, another group of competitors made their way to the city of London, Ontario. Canadian engineering students from over 20 different Canadian universities and technical schools took on the slopes in the 52nd annual Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race (GNCTR).
While there are certainly some similarities to events being held at the Olympics, you won’t find the kinds of toboggans being raced by these students anywhere else in the world.
Instead of the polished, hardened steel you may find beneath a bobsled, these racing toboggans are instead built upon skis made of concrete.
The competition, which took place from Feb. 4-8 this year, isn’t just decided during downhill races, either. There are a series of criteria that must be met to compete, and each has its own winners.
We were assessed on our race results, our theme and more specific features such as our braking and steering systems, frame design and overall project management.
26 students from NAIT travelled to London to participate in the competition. That group didn’t represent the many students and teachers who remained in Edmonton, preparing the team for competition.
Preparations start months before the competition
At the beginning of the school year, NAIT’s Civil Engineering club began the process of preparing for the contest. The GNCTR club pulled NAIT students from different programs: Civil Engineering Technology, Mechanical Engineering Technology, Instrumentation Engineering Technology and Occupational Health and Safety.
The participants were separated into specific teams, including concrete design, superstructure, mechanical systems, spirit, safety and logistics.
After appointing the executive team and determining the specific team leads, the team hit the ground running to begin preparation for the competition.
The teams collaborated through the next four and a half months to design the toboggan from the ground up. They met critical requirements of design features while operating within the ruleset provided by the GNCTR organizers. Along with other dedicated students, we worked additional hours to prepare, and the work spoke for itself once the concrete skis hit the slopes in London.
Before having the opportunity to race downhill, a technical exhibition was hosted to display the designs of all teams, showcasing the design considerations and overall construction of the toboggan.
Colton Gustafson, technical mechanical lead, Adara Chitze, superstructure lead and Kaden Van Domselaar, steering component designer and fabricator, represented NAIT in the presentation of the overall mechanical systems and superstructure.
Meanwhile, Ioachim Talmazan-Obol and Harjot Parhar, the concrete team leads, presented the concrete mix and geometric designs.
We earned a third place finish for braking performance and tied for third place for “King of the Hill,” which is determined via head-to-head elimination races. The University of British Columbia’s Okanogan campus took home the first place honours.
What’s coming up next year
Next year, we’d like to see NAIT students from various clubs join and provide their unique insight, especially those interested in dance, choreography or costume design. A big part of the competition is the spirit of it, which includes things like dancing, chanting and costumes for the different sub-events. But overall, we’re really happy with our team’s performance on and off the slopes.
Our work is not yet complete — after returning from the competition, we are working to ensure that next year, we have proper feedback, recommendations and funding.
We treat this like we would working in our careers, ensuring that the next team to come in starts off better than the last. That is what this competition is really about, making sure the team continues to grow the tools needed to succeed.
And next year, NAIT students and student clubs like us will get to experience the concrete toboggan race right here in Edmonton, and NAIT will have another opportunity to compete for the top spot. In 2027, the GNCTR will be hosted by the University of Alberta.
With the competition closer to home in 2027, we’d love to see students that were involved in past years — or students who just love the spirit of competition — come out and help cheer NAIT on at the competition.
Feature image via Mitchell Janisse
