Media Release
July 23 2010
Experience the racing
It
is one of the most hotly contested racing events on the SA calendar. No,
it’s not the V8 supercars and not the Tour Down Under - it is the UniSA
Australian HPV Super
Series or Pedal Prix and this season the competition for line
honours will be hotter than ever.
The UniSA-sponsored event involves more than 500 teams of school
students each year from upper primary right through to senior high
school and independent teams passionate about excellence in the
development of human-powered vehicle technology.
And in an ongoing bid to be fully engaged in the event and provide
opportunities for university and high school students to learn and
collaborate, the University has established its own team which will be
racing in the open category this Sunday at Victoria Park Raceway.
New manager for the UniSA team and student of the associate degree in
engineering at the University, Michelle Bailey says the event offers
some fabulous hands-on learning opportunities for both university and
school students.
“I am new to the job, so this year our team is getting some invaluable
mentoring from the Loreto College
team who are ‘old-timers’ at the Pedal Prix,” Bailey says.
“Next year we hope to reciprocate by making our engineering students
available to support the Loreto students in their efforts.
“This is what Pedal Prix is all about – sharing knowledge – not only
about the science and engineering but also about what it takes to get a
team working well in this event – the logistics, the specifications and
rules, and building the team work to make a good effort.”
Bailey says the UniSA Australian HPV Super Series is a wonderful way for
students to get the kind of experiential learning that will hold them in
good stead in the future. A qualified Fitter, Turner and Toolmaker,
Bailey has returned to university to complete a full degree in
engineering with the ambition to work in manufacturing and design.
“I have experience in the workplace, so that is helping me to bring some
structure to the team which comprises seven members drawn from across
the entire uni – they are not all engineering students,” she says.
“Most of the team - as members of the
UniSA
Cycling Club - have some staying power on the pedals though. I hope
that will help our performance.”
And UniSA students are working across the event to benefit from the
experiential learning opportunities it provides.
Third year sport and recreation management student Rachel Staffin and
someone with a long association with the event, is undertaking her
practical placement with Pedal Prix. Her involvement will be credited as
part of her degree studies.
“I was involved as a racer for five years during High School and then
for three years working in the pits,” Staffin says.
“Undertaking my work placement at the event is both familiar and
completely new. I’m seeing the Pedal Prix from the other side and
gaining a very real appreciation of all of the planning and preparation
that goes on behind the scenes to make it happen.
“On placement we get to play a role in organising the event which means
we can put theory into practice and we can make some invaluable industry
connections. I’m starting to appreciate just how much work goes into
running this event, how vital it is to work with industry providers very
closely and to ask questions, so that we can be sure we run an event
that’s safe for everyone.”
Each year more than 35,000 spectators attend trackside events at
Victoria Park raceway and in Murray Bridge where the 24-hour season
final endurance race is held in September.
Media contact
- Michèle Nardelli office (08) 8302 0966 mobile 0418 823 673 email michele.nardelli@unisa.edu.au