2010 National Champions crowned!!!

Team Govannon Racing from Dundalk Grammar School, was declared the National Champions of the 2010 F1 in Schools Technology Challenge, powered in Ireland by Irish Computer Society at the National Finals held in Griffith College Dublin yesterday.

Michael O'Neill Team Manager, Niall Carroll, Graphic Designer, Jack Farrell, Resource Manager, Steven Butterly, Manufacturing Engineer, and Conor Clarke, Manufacturing Engineer fought off fierce competition from 27 finalist teams from all over Ireland to claim the National Title and Trophy as well as the opportunity to represent Ireland in the 2010 World Championships next autumn, in Singapore. The overall winners share the €2,000 in prize money.

A big congratulations to all teams involved. The judges' feedback was fantastic!

Check out our photos from the big day.

The prizes awarded were as follows:

Junior Cycle

1st - Quark, Presentation College, Askea, Carlow

2nd - Terminal Velocity, De La Salle College, Macroom, Co. Cork

3rd - Lightning Strike F1, St Colmans College, Claremorris, Co. Mayo

Senior Cycle

1st - Govannon Racing, Dundalk Grammar School, Dundalk, Co. Louth

2nd - Team Kestrel, St Paul's Community College, Lisduggan, Co. Waterford

3rd - Evolution Racing (evo), Dundalk Grammar School, Dundalk, Co. Louth

Awards

Fastest Car (D-Type) - Terminal Velocity, De La Salle College, Macroom, Co. Cork (in a time of 1.127 seconds)

Fastest Car (R-Type) - Allegro, Presentation Secondary School, Loughboy, Co. Kilkenny

Best Engineered Car - Dynamo, Presentation College, Askea, Carlow

Best Team Website - Govannon Racing, Dundalk Grammar School, Dundalk, Co. Louth

Best Use of ICT & CAD - Mercury F1, Coachford College, Coachford, Co. Cork

Best Sponsorship & Marketing - Team Kestrel, St Paul's Community College, Lisduggan, Co. Waterford

Newcomer - Quark, Presentation College, Askea, Carlow

Praise from F1 in Schools Founder

Andrew Denford Founder and Chairman of F1 In Schools, in presenting the winning trophy, congratulated the overall winners while also expressing his delight at the very high standards displayed by all the finalists. "The commitment shown by both the teachers and the students is mind-blowing", he said. "The high standards attained give us great confidence for the future development of science and technology in Ireland. We see this as a creative opportunity to promote the technological skills of' designs second level students."

All the participating teams have been perfecting their designs, portfolios and presentation skills since competing in the regional finals last February and March. Using Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software to create virtual 3D models of their cars, the teams collaborated with 3rd Level F1 Make Centres on their manufacture. The colleges used their special milling equipment to convert the designs into real model F1 racers. The cars, measuring about 25cms and made of balsa wood, can reach scale speeds of 350km/h.

In addition to racing head to head, the competing teams were judged on the quality of engineering, portfolio, resource management, marketing, graphic design and sponsorship activities and on a verbal presentation of their work.

For many of the students, Formula 1 in Schools Technology Challenge powered in Ireland by Irish Computer Society, has been the highlight of the school year to date.

Team Kestrel from St Paul's Community College in Waterford who walked away with two awards on the day, have been competing in the competition since it launched in Ireland in 2006. "Learning how to work as a team and improving our computer skills is what we achieve from this amazing competition, we have great fun on the day and we can't wait to come back and try for the top prize again next year."

Irish Computer Society CEO, Jim Friars added: "This is the fourth year of the Challenge in Ireland and it just gets bigger and better. The quality of the students' work is truly impressive and it has been encouraging to witness the teams immersing themselves wholeheartedly in the worlds of technology and engineering. Schools see the value of incorporating the challenge into their extra-curricular activities, and we believe it is the perfect preparation for 't4' Technology subjects, which are now being examined in secondary schools across the country."