AS THE WHEEL TURNS


This Year’s Challenge: Engineer the Best Portable Ride


T


hat’s the exciting, and possibly overwhelming, task participants in the collegiate 2026 National Ride Contest have. For a com- petitor’s point-of-view, the OABA contacted Luke Johnson, a


University of Kentucky mechanical engineering student, about tackling the ride challenge. Luke serves as president of his school’s local chapter of the


Themed Engineering Association and, last year, won an ASTM International Experiential Scholarship Award provided by the IAAPA Foundation which allowed him to attend the ASTM International F24 Committee meetings in Scottsdale, AZ. “This was my first time attending ASTM,” Luke said, “and it was an eye-opening experience. I really could not have made it out there without this scholarship and I am truly thankful for everyone at IAAPA who made it happen.” That’s an experience that may give him an edge in the competition.


Competition Overview Each team must design,


engineer, and manufacture a ride featuring elevation, ro- tation, and at least two Gs of acceleration for candy riders. Students have six months to produce their ride, conduct a risk assessment, and show compliance with the ASTM F2291 safety standard. At the closing event in Hershey, PA, in April, teams will assemble, disassemble and reassemble their rides. Judges will award additional points based on the ride’s uptime, theme, ser- vice plan, and site acceptance testing. Two winners will be crowned.


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