“On your marks, get set, go!”
Those were the words high school students from across Saskatchewan heard this weekend, as they put their love for auto mechanics and racing to the test in an electric go-cart challenge.
The goal was for students to turn a gas-powered cart into an electric cart.
“I work on a farm doing construction and I’ve always loved motors,” said Grade 12 student Michael Biggar from Moose Jaw, Sask. “I am a fan of Nascar, and any kind of racing. I do drag racing myself.”
Fourteen teams from across the province gathered at Prairieland Park in Saskatoon, including three from Moose Jaw.
“We spent a lot of months building these, getting them ready — lots of trial and error,” Biggar said. He went on to say the team worked on the cars every day after school, and went to a local Ford dealership multiple times to learn about engines and how to put the car together.
One team out of Mount Royal Collegiate in Saskatoon said they enjoyed the atmosphere of competing and putting their minds to the test.
“The track is really slick,” said Grade 12 student Ethan Burtney. “I’ve noticed on the corners you have to watch your speed, and overall, it’s been a great experience.”
“People can just be extremely creative, and you don’t see the same car twice,” Grade 10 student Zachary Hovde said. “People just modify how they want and how they like.”
The involvement is geared towards setting the students up for careers after school, and hopefully getting them into the electric vehicle sector.
“It gets the people at Ford involved in hands-on learning with these kids to understand what goes into building and maintaining an electric car, and hopefully pursue a career in it one day,” said Merv Armstrong president of Swervin Mini Indy Inc..