2018 Vector EPro8 Challenge Grand Final
The 2018 Vector EPro8 Challenge grand finals were an epic experience. On the 5th and 6th December the top 24 year 5-6 and top 24 year 7-8 teams all around the Auckland region competed for the title of the 2018 Vector EPro8 Challenge champion.
The grand finals had twice the number of teams as normal event. 24 teams competed at each grand final. This created an exciting and intense atmosphere.
At the grand final the challenges followed a sport and leisure theme. The challenges the teams could choose from were:
- A race track for a snail race, and calculating the speed of the snails
- A 10 pin bowling lane, and wiring this to tell when combinations of pins have been knocked over
- A limbo contraption, which could detect when the bar had fallen and could be remotely adjusted
- A rowing machine which involved using various combinations of pulleys
The year 7-8 grand final was close throughout out the whole event. The final had teams from Murrays Bay Intermediate and Somerville Intermediate tied for first place, and needing to take on a tie breaker challenge.
For the tie breaker the teams had five minutes to build the tallest free standing structure. Somerville Intermediate's structure was 3.050 m tall Murrays Bay Intermediate's structure was 3.005mm tall, meaning Somerville Intermediate took the title by a mere 45mm.
The year 5-6 grand final was almost as close, but Churchill Park School took the title outright.
The 2018 season started on 27 July. 188 Auckland primary and intermediate schools competed across 51 heats and 16 semi-finals.
The Vector EPro8 Challenge are designed to give students a fun and rewarding experience with science and engineering. At each heat the teams were presented with four science and engineering based challenges. These were:
- A storm proof dog kennel
- A magic show using magnets
- A solar powered alarm clock
- A fire engine
Points were awarded whenever a challenge was completed, with the top teams from each event qualifying for the semi-finals. At the semi-finals teams were presented with a new set of science and engineering based challenges.
At the semifinals the challenges were the "Rock Band Edition". Teams could choose from building a working speakers, a stage with rigging and lighting, a drum kit, and doing measurements and calculations to work out a crowd size.
At each event, the teams are based at a workstation containing an assortment of engineering equipment, including gears, pulleys, motors, electronics modules and aluminium extrusion.
Every time a team finished a challenge they push their Big Red Button. If successful their points will be added to the leaderboard.
With the record numbers this year, the semifinals consisted of eight year 5-6 semi-finals and eight year 7-8 semi-finals. This leads to a MEGA grand final, where 24 teams will compete at each of the year 5-6 and year 7-8 grand finals. These will be the biggest ever Vector EPro8 Challenge events.
The Grand Finalists:
The following schools and teams will be taking part in the 2018 Vector EPro8 Challenge GRAND FINAL.
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Year 5-6
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Year 7-8
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The Vector EPro8 Challenge would not be possible without the fantastic support from Vector
Their help is really appreciated
