JANUARY 27 - JANUARY 30, 2027
WHAT IS GNCTR?
The Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race is a Canadian engineering student vehicle project. Teams are tasked to build a sliding vehicle where the sliding surface is made entirely out of concrete. GNCTR is one of Canada’s oldest & largest engineering competitions. It has been a Canadian Tradition since 1974 and hosts 500 students each year from across Canada and including select schools from the United States of America.
Team scoring is based on several factors including; on-hill race performance, braking, steering, theoretical design, & safety. Points are also awarded for toboggan design philosophies, technical report and information content, and team spirit!
While GNCTR is a vehicle project, heavy emphasis is placed on the team building, collaboration, and community. Teams will adopt a new theme each year and design costumes and work this theme into their toboggans aesthetics.
The GNCTR Alumni Community has had impacts in every industry in Canada and stretches across generations.
University of Toronto, GNCTR 2025, Montreal, QC
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GNCTR IN THE NEWS
Engineering students across the country are racing concrete toboggans in London this weekend
CBC
February 7, 2026
Concrete toboggans built by engineering students from across the country will race down a London ski hill this weekend as the Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race returns to the city.
The annual competition brings together university teams who design and build concrete sleds capable of reaching speeds of up to 80 km/h before competing head-to-head on snow and ice.
“It's very intense. It's very exciting. It’s a huge rush,” said Jess Van Den Heuvel, co-chair of the race organizing committee and past racer
Boler Mountain set for high-speed concrete toboggan competition
“About 450 engineering students from 18 universities will compete in London next month.”
London Free Press
January 12, 2026
Boler Mountain will host about 450 students from across Canada as the ski club transforms to accommodate concrete sleds for a national engineering competition.
The Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race is scheduled to return to London for the first time in about a decade on Feb. 7.
What the f$$$ is a Concrete Toboggan?
Courtesy of UBC GNCTR Club
A Concrete Toboggan is a sliding vehicle where the skis or interface with the vehicle and snow must be made out of concrete. Modern concrete toboggans more resemble bobsleds and are equipped with engineered components such as steering, braking system, roll-cage superstructure & concrete ski design
