General News
27 November, 2023
Local schools put on strong show at EB
Braving wet and wild weather, local schools held their own against students from across the state at Energy Breakthrough (EB), claiming overall wins in a number of categories and events. While there were 90 schools and hundreds of students taking...
Braving wet and wild weather, local schools held their own against students from across the state at Energy Breakthrough (EB), claiming overall wins in a number of categories and events.
While there were 90 schools and hundreds of students taking part in EB, it was the local schools and teams that shone by the conclusion of the five-day event.
Avoca Primary School secured its position as back-to-back winners in the Human Powered Vehicles (HPV) — A Class — Section 1 competition, with Avoca Unbreakable living up to their team name.
The team placed highest overall in every category across design, display and the race trial itself, outshining other competing schools to secure the win.
It was also the school’s Avoca Unstoppable that was named overall winner in the Try-athlon event after a strong performance on the track.
Avoca Primary School acting principal and EB coordinator Tom Elliott said there was an overwhelming feeling of pride at school on Monday.
“The kids are feeling very proud, there’s a lot of work that goes into this and the response from the community is overwhelming — people are so excited for the whole school community,” he said.
“It’s not just the racing part, the students’ behaviour is exceptional and they know their representing their school and town, they really do rise to the occasion.
“You put in the effort and the rewards come — these guys have put in huge amounts of effort for two terms in the lead up to this so yes, they’re very proud.”
More than just a race, Mr Elliott said EB is not only important for students’ broader education but also their growth as young people.
“The highlight for me has always been seeing students apply themselves and what they get out of it in return,” he said.
“You might know a particular student is going to be the fastest rider, that’s the easy part for them, but they might struggle to read and so they have to work twice as hard at that aspect of it for the design and presentation element.
“Seeing how much the kids grow over the journey with their education and as people too is so worthwhile and that’s really what it’s about.
“Our robotics team for example might not have won, but it was such a worthwhile event for those students to take part in, it’s an event that appeals to young people with different interests and it’s great to have an avenue for them.”
Fellow local students at Carisbrook Primary School put in an outstanding effort to win the trial event in the HPV A Class — Section 2 event with their team Redback Junior.
The second year it’s been held, the Robotics event was a big hit with local schools — with the Maryborough Education Centre (MEC) coming in first, St Augustine’s Primary School in second and students from Carisbrook and Avoca not far behind.
Intermittent rain and some thunderstorms across the weekend tried to play havoc with the secondary school HPV events but to no avail, with Highview College and MEC polling strongly across the board.
In Class B2 it was MEC’s team Voltaic to be crowned overall winner despite placing second by a slim margin in the race event, with the school’s team Giovanni taking out the design and construction component in Class B1.
In Class C, MEC’s team Stampede came runner-up by a tight margin to Highview’s team Kenough, who took out the display and presentation as well as the trial.
MEC principal David Sutton said the school was proud of every student that participated in this year’s event.
“MEC has again excelled in EB. We are proud of all our teams and the manner in which they participated,” he said.
“Of special note is the full marks our Robotics Team achieved to win the event. Our secondary HPV teams, Voltaic and Stampede also achieved fine results being crowned overall winners and runners up respectively.
“Old, Reliable represented our Specialist Setting with distinction. It was their first time in the 24 hour event and they competed with enthusiasm for the entire race.
“Thanks to all the team mangers and parents who supported our teams. We are currently all still recovering but can’t wait until next year.”
Bendigo Senior Secondary College’s team Known Gnomes completed the most laps in the 24-hour time trial with 620, pedalling a total distance of 979.6 kilometres.
Just behind them were Girton Grammar School’s Xception, the overall winner of the Electric Vehicle category, who completed 613 laps, a distance of 968.5 kilometres.
