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Critical Updates:

1. April -Winning team visits Florida for University visits and STEAM-related activities.
2. May – Membership Drive commences online
3. June to August – Engage schools and teams about Box Cart InterCol 2025
4. September – Box Cart InterCol 2025 Launch
5. September to November – Online engagements of schools across Trinidad and Tobago
6. November 15th – Deadline to Register for the Box Cart InterCol 2025
7. November 29th – (Arima Velodrome) Box Cart Intercol Practicals / Races
8. December 6th – Portfolio Submission deadline. Submit at Race Event.
9. TBA – Prize giving awards / announcement

Remember that ALL signed forms must be presented at the venue during scrutineering.

It will be an entire day of fun competition. We expect sportsmanship and school spirit throughout the event.

We wish ALL teams good luck and fun racing!

About the Competition

Box Cart Intercol is a competition that educates by using the teaching methods defined by S.T.R.E.A.M. (Science  Technology  Research  Engineering  Art  Management). We intend to export the brand to regional and international markets through competition and employing the principles of S.T.R.E.A.M. We will conduct all competition with no bias or favoritism offering no discrimination to age or gender. We will provide the fairest platform for competitors to express themselves, learn and compete. We will ensure that indigenous Gravity Racing is embraced and exported to the international community through exploration and development of cultural creativity.

Register Now Competitor’s Package

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Competition Objectives

The Box Cart Intercol will employ the IDEATE (I – Identify, D – Define, E – Explore possible solutions, A – Access selected solutions, T – Try out / Test solutions, E – Evaluate) teaching / learning process. This model of teaching and learning is maximized in the judging of the competition. The students participating in the Box Cart Intercol will have to ability to present a written portfolio that accounts for 65% of the total score towards determining the winner of the competition. There are two options presented as classes of gravity racer. These are made available using different budgets, creativity levels, artistic expressions and technical ability. Each will be graded / scored objectively to determine allocation of prizes.

The written portfolio will document the use of the IDEATE model as it requests empirical data that was used and as such assessed. The objectives previously stated and found in the portfolio are requested to show the thought process from inception to production. The process of learning and decision making is highlighted along with the academic research. There are nine (9) components to the project. Each of the components addresses a step in the learning / teaching model. Each component is awarded points that add up toward the
completed gravity racer / box cart. The performance of the vehicle is measured in a “head to head” acceleration test and awarded points through a structured elimination racing process (a process that mirrors the professional acceleration tests of professional drag racing vehicles).

Through this approach of learning and the cognitive development of our participants, we also target the affective. The following affective objectives will present itself, during and at the end of the competition, as participants will possess:

a. Greater verbal and written communication skills that would be fostered through their: team building/team spirit, leadership development, self-confidence, problem solving skills, entrepreneurial skills among others.
b. A new-found interest and appreciation for mechanical design, business, art, research, engineering and other sciences.
c. Willingness and freedom to explore varying ways of design and innovation in their approach to problem solving.
d. Comfort in applying learning and understanding in a transitional way, where they can see in their minds eye a practical avenue to apply classroom learning/teachings while introducing and developing new skill sets.
e. An enjoyment for delayed gratification, where they understand that their reward comes as a result of the consistency, application and hard-work completed (i.e. their sweat equity) and an appreciation for intrinsic motivation.
f. An understanding and appreciation that they are active participants in their learning and that their teachers play a role of mentors and facilitators, where they are seen as equal partners on the journey of learning and discovery through working and playing together.
g. The ability to foster closer cordial and respectful relationships with organizations, groups, families and companies, where they understand that the best solutions comes from communal involvement.

A greater appreciation of enjoying the fruits of their labor and developing comradery with their fellow competitors, as they use their box carts to have fun in streets.

The responsibility of transportation for both vehicles and teams to and from the venue depends solely on the resourcefulness of the Principal and Staff of the respective schools.

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FAQs

How does a team register to compete in the Box Cart Intercol 2025?

Register Now

Remember that ALL signed forms must be presented at the venue during scrutineering.

It will be an entire day of fun competition.We expect sportsmanship and school spirit throughout the event.

We wish ALL teams good luck and fun racing !

What is the maximum number of members allowed in a team?

1. There is a maximum of seven members in each team. 

What is the maximum number of teams allowed from each school?

1 There is no maximum number of teams that can enter from one school. 

Can an individual be on more than one team? 

1. We promote team spirit. The support teams (Pit Crew) are allowed to support each other on the day of competition / acceleration testing in the pit area, however designated drivers may not test more than one vehicle in competition. They are limited to compete in the vehicle that they are registered to race.

Is there a cost to register each team? 

1. There is no cost to register teams to compete in the Box Cart Intercol 2025

Are there different types / classes of racer?

1. There are 2 types of racers. There is the Gravity Racer Class and the Luge Class.
2. Rules clearly define the define design and build parameters of each class. 

What is the written portfolio?

1. The written portfolio describes the design and build process with experiences. 
2. The points awarded to the written portfolio is added to points awarded from competing / acceleration testing. 
3. The written portfolio is accepted as one per team i.e each team should have a portfolio assigned to the vehicle. 

How much does it cost to build a Gravity Racer?

1. Funding the build is the responsibility of the team.
2. Teams are encouraged to use entrepreneurial skills to raise the needed funds to build their racer. 
3. Design innovation can significantly reduce costs. 
4. The effort employed towards reusing / recycling / repurposing donated parts from bicycles etc. can reduce costs. 
5. A gravity racer can be built from sweat equity, design innovation, and donated parts. 

What is the prize for winning? 

1. It is a championship challenge. 
2. Sponsor support will determine additional prizes and recognition of achievements. 

Can the work done building a box cart be submitted for SBA (School Based Assessment)?

1. Box Cart Intercol judging criteria was aligned to the CXC (Caribbean Examination Council) Curriculum. This allows teachers and students to determine project submissions for SBA. 

Have Students used the build process in their SBA submission? 

1. Schools have already submitted work done as part of their SBA, i.e. Technical Drawing

Is building and testing a Gravity Racer Dangerous?

1. There are strict safety protocols for the competition / acceleration testing.
2. Teachers act as team managers that ensure the build process meets all safety requirements as they normally would in day to day operations during the school term. 
3. The inherent and purposeful design of the competition / Acceleration testing minimizes and manages the risk. 

How long does it take to build a box cart?

Winning Box Carts have been built in as little as 16 man-hours to 16 weeks ! !  The restrictions are “deadlines” (an intention to enter the competition) and how much detail you want to put into the effort. The beauty of building a box cart from scratch is that care can be taken to design everything you want out of it, into it ! Using only basic tools and some minor welding, a Champion Cart has been built in as little as four weekends. Something school teams, a father and son, or mother and daughter can accomplish together. 

If the vehicle is motor-less, how does it move?

All box carts are powered by gravity. For this instance gravity refers to the force that attracts a body toward the center of the earth. The word gravity comes from the Latin word “gravitas” meaning seriousness, weight and from the Latin word “gravis” meaning heavy. It is this force that acts upon us all that drives the vehicles to the finish line. Gravity for calculations in physics is often referred to as “G” the gravitational constant in formulae. The same force that Sir Isaac Newton defined in 1687 that we use today in celestial mechanics is what drives the vehicles. And it is the same for everyone. That force that causes a marble to roll down and incline, water to run down stream to the ocean, and that force that caused that alleged famed apple to fall to Sir Isaac Newton’s head, is the force exerted through gravity. 

I’d love to be very creative with my box cart design, are there restrictions?

The dimensions are very standard and can be found in the rules of competition. 

 As to your creativity? That is fortunately up to you. We do however offer a gentle reminder about the physics and mechanics of the design paying particular attention to load bearing points in your design. And most importantly, HAVE FUN BUILDING your Box Cart Gravity Racer. 

Why can’t I simply import a box cart or have someone else make it?

Where’s the fun in that? The intention of the competition is to experience the design and building of a vehicle that is powered by gravity. The design and building process adds value to the designer / builder and can offer the unique opportunity to bond with a team, and to also to develop teamwork ethics and skillsets. There is a sense of pride and accomplishment that comes with the building of the Gravity Racer and seeing it race and tested against like designs. We encourage the process of designing, building, entering and racing your Gravity Racer. 

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Downloads (PDFs)

Consent Form Rules & Safety Guidelines Judging Criteria Competitor’s Package

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Events

GRATT is responsible for the following:

• Paradise Box Cart Challenge
• Arima Dey 
• Box Cart Intercol 
• Box Cart Carnival

Services

GRATT provides event management for gravity racing from beginning to end. This will include the marketing and strategies developed to ensure maximum effectiveness of the selected campaign. This includes operating at a National and international level. 

Benefits

We design and develop and execute event campaigns to ensure effective implementation of outlined objectives related to Gravity Racing. Simply put, we offer a “one stop” location for all the needs of a successful Gravity Racing Event and campaign. 

Testimonials & Reviews

We have testimonials from the target market and more through various media coverage of our events. Some of our competitors have graduated from both local and international tertiary institutions. Some of our competitors have even become technicians that are now self-employed in the automotive industry:

Christian Bachew, Holy Cross College, Arima –“It’s a great experience to actually use and apply the things you learn in a classroom so it doesn’t feel like you are just working and slaving in a secondary school or any other institution for six to seven years. It’s a good time to apply what you learn outside of the workplace and before you are an adult and you still can have fun while you can.”

Anecia Cuthbert Cozier, Parent– “I love the fact that he (Anthony Cozier) works with his brother, he works with his father; they get to put things in practice and figure things out…and that’s a great process to me.”

Tada-Marie Boneo, Captain of the first ever all-girls boxcart racing team from Arima Central Secondary School- “It was honestly really fun. I got to actually do practical work, stuff that we don’t usually get to do; but I also got to put the theories of physics that I learnt in school into practice and that was actually really fun, seeing it actually come to life.”

Rickie Boodoo, Holy Cross College, Arima– “This will actually give us a chance to take out what we are learning from that classroom and bring it into the race. We’re not just going to be working with books and pencils but we are going to be working with actual carts. Like in physics how we might learn the basics of this, but we are actually going to experience it.”

Sharon Bello, Teacher, Arima Central Secondary School –“Students in the school environment think of academics as being very boring and rote, but when they interact with different activities…hands-on activities; when they take part in different competitions and events where they are actually part of the process, it helps them connect the science a lot better.”

Kirk Ho Hing, Champion Auto Cross Racer –“You’ll see what everybody’s idea of a race cart is; it’s a lot of ingenuity, a lot of imagination that went into the building of these things […] some are fast, some are not so fast, but at the end of the day, we’re all here to have fun!”

Contact Us

To discuss how we can partner to develop the sport and communities email – gravityracingassociationtt@gmail.com