Winning Entry Video:
Nine Rotary Clubs in West Yorkshire came together to run a Technology Tournament for local schools. 27 teams in three different age groups took on the challenge of building a space capsule launcher.
The video shows the winning teams entry at the Advanced level, to project a capsule holding a ball and parachute to a height of 2.5 metres, for the capsule to break away and return to ground, the ball and parachute to continue upwards until the parachute opens and the ball then drifts back to ground.
Very definitely not an easy task but most teams managed to produce a working device although some of the balls disappeared at very odd angles.
Mirfield Free Grammar surprised even them winning the trophy at all three levels.
Present at the Tournament which was held in the Dewsbury Rams Tetley Stadium, was the Mayor and Mayoress of Kirklees, Rotary District Governor Phil Poole, Geoff Auty, Editor of the School Science Review and Rotarian Bob Tunnicliffe who was instrumental in the original concept of a schools technical challenge some 15 years ago.
Chairman of the Organising Committee, Rotarian Mike Gill said, it is an absolute delight to see over a hundred young students applying themselves as small teams to a difficult challenge producing a portfolio tracing their thought processes as well as a working device.
Mike Gill is Treasurer of the Rotary Club of Horbury and Ossett Phoenix.