HPV

2022 ENERGY BREAKTHROUGH

After a two-year hiatus, the college was able to enter three teams in the 2022 Energy Breakthrough Human Powered Vehicle (HPV) event in Maryborough. The Energy Breakthrough allows students to not only race in Human Powered Vehicles, but also to complete self-directed learning around the benefits of human-powered transport, its positive impact on the environment, the aerodynamics and scientific principles associated with racing a HPV, diet and nutrition for racers, leadership and understanding what they are truly capable of. These elements come together in the race, as well as a 20-minute display and presentation to a judging panel and a Q&A session about the design and construction of their team's HPV.

The Energy Breakthrough was the culminating event of a year full of weekend practices at the Mildura Go Kart Club, competition in three events in South Australia, and three Sunday planning sessions during Term 4 at the Mercy Campus to prepare for both the 'Design and Construction' along with the 'Display and Presentation' components of the competition.

With two teams, Sunraysia Star and Virtuous, in the Year 7/8 mixed category and another, Mallee Missile, in the open competition, students headed to Maryborough confident in the work they had done and the potential for some excellent results.

We arrived on a sunny Thursday following the weeks of above average rain in the district before the event. This meant that we were camping in a slightly different location to previous years due to the muddiness of the ovals in Maryborough. Final preparations were put in place for the verbal components of the competition on Friday.

All three teams acquitted themselves very well in their presentations on Friday morning. Whilst the Mallee Missile and Virtuous teams put their best feet forward, the Sunraysia Star team was awarded the best Display and Presentation for this years event. All teams then went through the competition's Design and Construction phase and showcased their knowledge and design modifications of the HPVs.

Following these presentations, a severe weather warning for the Maryborough district meant that students had to move our campsite from under the shady but fragile tree branches and back to the previously mentioned muddy ovals. Whilst inconvenient, not one student complained, and the move was relatively seamless.

The next stage of the competition was a practice session on Friday night. This is always a good chance for new riders to learn the track and for the older riders to pick out their race lines. We also achieved fantastic results in the practice session, with Mallee Missile competitor Darcy Noonan gaining the fastest HPV lap time of the evening with an average speed of just under 54 km/h. The junior teams also did very well, setting their class's fastest and third fastest times.

Saturday morning rolled around, and with it some stormy weather. Some initial rain meant the initial start time was pushed back 30 minutes, but racing was soon underway, and all teams started the trial very well. Unfortunately, the worst of the weather was still to come, resulting in a four and a half hour pause to racing from 6:00 pm until 10:30 pm when the storm had passed. (Students bunkered down in the local high school.) During this break in racing, some sharp objects had found their way onto the track, and several flat tyres greeted us when we resumed competition.

Students pushed on and completed their races at 1:00pm on Sunday, just shy of the 24-hour mark with more bad weather approaching. Seeing the students push through adversity and put their best foot forward was excellent. The Mallee Missile team obtained a commendable top 10 finish in the open category, while the Sunraysia Star finished second in Year 7/8. Virtuous completed more laps but fell a bit short in their presentations. An excellent result for all involved.

A big thank-you to our sponsors during the entire year: Magenta Accounting, Mildura Battery World, Mildura Engineering, DGM excavations, LRT transport, and Mildura Locksmiths. Thank you also to the families that came and assisted throughout the weekend, John Fleming for organising, and Daniel Loveridge for driving the bus. Special thanks to alumnus Airlie Arnold and recently-graduated Year 12 students Dylan Zudetich and Isaac Burns for coming to help.

We look forward to an even bigger and better program in 2023 and hopefully our first race win.

Mr Marcus Parker and Mr John Fleming

HPV Program