The Coaster Derby

[[File:1 Coaster Derby.jpg|frame|right|top|450x330px|Coaster Derby held during Engineering Week. PR; Series 1; Sub-series 5; Item 6800 1977]]Date(s) of occurrence: 1975 - 1990s? Previous/other names: Origins: First held in 1975, the Coaster Derby was organized by the [[Student_Society_of_Mechanical_Engineers|Student Society of Mechanical Engineers]] as an opportunity for "students to test their theories and knowledge of the applied science and witchcraft." History: The course ran down the east side of campus from the [[Aitken_University_Centre|Aitken Center]] to the [[Lady_Beaverbrook_Gymnasium|Lady Beaverbrook Gymnasium]], as students billowed down "the Hill" at fifty to sixty kilometres per hour — sometimes going as fast as ninety kilometres per hour.  To officially qualify for the competition, a car must be gravity-powered, have three or four wheels, brakes, streering, a seat belt and a roll bar, and the driver must wear an approved helmet. Anyone not meeting these standards could still attempt a practice run. Throughout its history the event gave rise to a number of accidents. Before traffic was blocked off during the event a competitor was run over by a car pulling out of a parking lot, though the student was not gravely injured. In the early 1990s the event was moved from Fridays to Saturdays, when traffic was expected to be less significant. Notes:  Source(s): *Montague, Susan. A Pictorial History of the University of New Brunswick. Fredericton, NB: University of New Brunswick, 1992, p. 250. {{Copyright}} [[Category:Annual Events and Festivities|Coaster]]