Not just 1st, 2nd & 3rd...your guide to IET F24/24+ awards.

Don’t forget when designing and building IET Formula 24/24+ cars that the judges are not just looking for the teams who achieve first, second and third at an event. There are plenty of supplementary awards on offer and these are all judged to strict criteria by our independent panel.  

Criteria for the Best Engineered Car was created with the help of experts from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. The judges are looking at many different aspects including overall constructions and use of materials, controls, transmission, cooling and aero dynamics.  This year’s overall winner was Bernard from the Two Rivers School. The judges felt this car exhibited excellent design and build under all criteria.

The judges also dig deeper to decide on the winner of the more specialist prizes. The Siemens Innovation Award looks at one specific area of innovation on the vehicle. An example of this was the winner of the prize at the Somerset Regional Heat last year, Wyvern Community College, who had developed a design for the chassis that was very light whilst also very strong. This award is only presented at event if there is a team showing true innovation and is at the judges’ discretion.

At the National Finals the Best Engineered Car award is divided into several categories including Aerodynamics won this year by Parkstone Grammar School. The team impressed the judges by their knowledge and all the continuing work they are doing at school using modelling and a wind tunnel they had built themselves. The Philip Morant School were delighted that all their hard work developing the battery connection system on their car was recognised when they won the IET Technology Award. The team also claim it has reduced the length of their pit stops. Finally there was the IoM3 Materials award presented in 2011 to the Richard Lander School for their impressive wooden bodywork.

Remember with any of the above awards you can submit a report prior to the event explaining why your team and vehicle should be considered for a certain award. This will give the judges a head start on the day and ensure they lookout for the specific design aspects that make your car unique. Send your entry to info@greenpower.co.uk.

There is also the Best Presented Team Award. This is an important part of the whole Greenpower competition. A teams presentation really helps with sponsorship and help bring the team together.  Don’t forget about the Spirit of Greenpower as well. We saw a lot of incidents of this throughout last year but the Plume School who won the award at the finals truly deserved to be recognised for their unwavering good humour and consistent willingness to help any other team.

In 2012 the Marketing Award is being reintroduced in recognition of all the hard work teams put into promoting their cars and gaining sponsorship. We will be keeping a close eye on the press cuttings we receive and look forward to seeing all your portfolios in July. The full criteria for this award can be found at http://www.greenpower.co.uk/node/272.