The Third Annual Electric Go-Cart Competition will be held May 18 at the Carlisle Fairgrounds in Cumberland County from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Primary sponsors of the event are Pennsylvania Power & Light Co. and Metropolitan Edison Co./Pennsylvania Electric Co., with support from the Pennsylvania Department of Education and Carlisle Productions.

"High school students in 28 schools across the state will be participating in this year's event," said Lawrence C. Sparta, who coordinates the event for PP&L. "Seventeen schools are participating from PP&L's service area. Students have been working toward this event since January. The event encourages their creative, planning and presentation skills, which helps prepare them to enter the workplace.

"Endurance and design are as important as speed in this competition. Each cart will be powered by two 12-volt batteries and a one-horsepower motor," Sparta said.

The event is open to the public free of charge. The rain date is May 19.

Teams will be judged in four categories:

• An endurance test to measure the number of laps each go-cart can complete in a one-hour period;
• A safety, quality and design test to measure the quality of construction, safety features, integrity of moving parts and quality of electrical connections;
• An acceleration test to be timed over a specific course to measure the performance of the go-cart from a standing start;
• An oral presentation by one or two students from each team.

Each presentation must include the team's race strategy, preparation efforts, the safety features of the go-cart and the lessons learned by team members in the process.

In January, each participating high school received a go-cart chassis, paid for by their local electric utility. Since then, students have been working to modify the go-cart to run on two 12-volt, commercially available lead-acid batteries instead of conventional gas engines.

Sponsoring utilities will present each participating school with a plaque. Trophies will be awarded to first-, second- and third-place winners in each of the four events. A special trophy will be awarded to the overall competition winner.

Students from 19 high schools participated in last year's event, held at Ridley State Park in Media, Delaware County. A team from the Greater Johnstown Area Career and Technology Center, Cambria County, was the overall winner.

Editors:

Media representatives are invited to attend the competition. Winners are expected to be announced about 3 p.m. To catch the most action for both the endurance and acceleration races, the media is encouraged to come between 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Winners will be announced at 3 p.m. For more information, contact Lawrence C. Sparta at (610) 774-6914. Attached is a list of participating schools.


Participating Schools

Central Dauphin East High
Columbia Montour Vo-Tech
Dauphin County Vo-Tech
Salisbury High School
Elk Lake Senior High
Carlisle Area High
Dieruff High School
Wallenpaupack Area High
Cumberland Perry Vo-Tech
Valley View High
Tamaqua Area High
Carbon County Vo-Tech
Donegal High School
Central Dauphin High
Lancaster County Vo-Tech
Ephrata High School
Pequea Valley High
Bedford Everett Vo-Tech
Northern Tier Career Center
Reading-Muhlenberg Vo-Tech
Altoona Vo-Tech
Venango County Vo-Tech
Warren County Career Center
Berks Career & Technology Center - West
Huntingdon Vo-Tech
Berks Career & Technology Center - East
Monroe County Vo-Tech
Greater Johnstown Career and Technology Center