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Our Subteams
Every member plays a crucial role in our operations, and we welcome students from all disciplines and faculties at UBC. Whether your interests lie in engineering, design, management, or any other field, there is a place for you on our team.
Our team is organized into primary and secondary subteams, each focusing on a different aspect of our operations. Primary subteams are open to all applicants and operate year-round, and secondary subteams are open to members looking to get more involved with our team. Applicants must be part of a primary subteam to join a secondary subteam.
Primary Subteams
Mix Design
Our Mix team is responsible for developing and testing concrete mixes for casting the canoe, with a goal to create a mix that is lightweight, durable, and waterproof. Members will experiment with both fundamental and experimental ingredients to create a seaworthy mix for our canoe.
Members are expected to work with other subteams to understand the required properties of the concrete, develop and test various mix designs to determine the best possible mixture, and keep inventory of available materials.
Hull Design
Hull design is tasked with shaping and analyzing the hull of our canoe. From September to December, they develop several promising canoe designs using naval architecture software and work closely with other subteams to meet required properties of the hull. From January to April, Hull is responsible for preparing and casting the canoe.
Hull members will develop multiple canoe designs and analyze properties such as resistance and stability with software. In the second term, members will help with canoe construction, casting, and post-construction details (staining, inlays, etc.)
Structural
Our Structural members use the best designs produced by the Hull subteam and performs a more thorough analysis of the design. Members perform SolidWorks simulations and structural calculations to optimize the canoe’s design and address any flaws or constraints. Structural works closely with Hull and Mix to ensure the canoe meets competition requirements and will perform at its best.
Members in our Structural subteam will be tasked with testing and improving the canoe’s structural integrity, creating SolidWorks models of the canoe based on Hull’s designs, and ultimately producing a mould for the canoe for casting.
Construction
Our Construction subteam coordinates canoe casting and designs the crate for the canoe when we ship it to competitions. Construction also manages our display, an important competition deliverable which showcases our work throughout the year.
Members in Construction will keep inventory of available construction materials, hold casting practices with other subteams, cast the canoe on Casting Day, and regularly check on the canoe while setting. Members will also research, design, and build a transportation system to minimize damage in shipping.
Note: the Construction subteam recruits exclusively in term 2. Interested applicants are encouraged to apply to a primary subteam and may join the Construction subteam in the second term.
Project Management
UBC Concrete Canoe’s Project Management team is composed of multiple branches, all of which work together to keep the team operational and running smoothly. Below is a list of our administrative roles.
- External relations: Responsible for social media communications, team event promotions, taking photos and videos, and creating the team’s competition videos.
- Project finance: Manage the team’s finances. Tasked with budgeting, forecasting, and analyzing financial data using PowerBi.
- Sponsorship: Responsible for sponsor outreach and communication, and for organizing events like our annual Sponsor Appreciation Night.
- Social coordinators: Develop a sense of community within the team. Responsible for coordinating socials and communicating events to the rest of the team.
- Graphic designer: Design graphics for everything the team needs, from newsletters and sponsorship packages to merchandise and social media.
Secondary Subteams
Paddling
Our Paddling subteam represents UBC Concrete Canoe racing during competitions. Paddlers work hard throughout the year to develop strong paddling skills and learn to paddle as a team to race our canoe against other teams. Paddling is physically demanding and requires consistent training.
Members who join the Paddling subteam must commit to regular practice sessions, learn how to use and care for paddling equipment, and collaborate with Construction to transport paddling materials safely.
Note: Interested applicants will need to be part of a primary subteam to join the Paddling subteam.
Software
The Software subteam is in charge of website management and developing a new in-house design software that can be tailored to the needs of our team. Interested applicants are encouraged to apply even without programming experience, though knowledge of C/C++ is helpful.
Members in the Software subteam will work with other subteams to understand required functionality for the design software. Members will use Qt6 and OpenCASCADE libraries to develop the software and will work with the Administrative team to keep our website up-to-date.
Got more questions? Check out our handbook or get in touch.