Maryborough, November. With each new year comes a chance to refine the Energy

2006 Review Newsletter 3 Maryborough, November Highlights Great racing in HPVs More hybrids than ever Tryathlon popular Clean 2006 RACV Energy Breakthrough INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Human Powered Vehicles 2 Marty s musings 3 Innovations; Waste Wise 4 Tryathlon; Pushcarts 5 Sustainable Energy Break- FEST; Traffic management 6-7 Volunteers please 8 nother year, another A 3,000 young people energised! With each new year comes a chance to refine the Energy Breakthrough program. We're now into our 17 th year but we continue to look for new ways of improving the event and making the experience even better for everyone involved. The Planning Committee has been flat out since the flag fell on the 2006 event The online feedback channel again flashed into life for the weeks following the Breakthrough (check within this newsletter for more details) - thank you to everyone who contributed their thoughts. We do listen to you - the participating teachers and LOOKING FORWARD students - and are encouraged by comments such as this one from a long-time HPVA team manager: "Congratulations to all involved - the best one I've been to " A group of Hybrid team managers have met and continue to discuss possible improvements to the category. There has been a suggestion that we introduce an all female class in the HPV s this year. The Try-athlon category has been reviewed and refined, as the demand and interest has increased significantly over the past 5 years. The School's DVD handbook is currently undergoing a re-write.. As always, we hope to make it as accessible as possible for all of the teams and it should be in schools in mid March. We are also looking at more ways that young people can become involved in the event through volunteering - from being part of the onsite newspaper to getting on the stage and entertaining the masses - keep an eye out for ways your students can get involved. If you know any people who would like to volunteer please contact the RACV Energy Breakthrough office. We're working as hard as we can to make the 2007 Energy Breakthrough the best ever! Human Powered Events 2007 Wonthaggi Salamanca (Tas) Casey Maroondah Maryborough Qld Murray Bridge SA Maryborough Vic RACV Energy Breakthrough November 22 25

PAGE 2 ENERGY BREAKTHROUGH 2006 REVIEW he 2006 HPV Secondary Trial event was T quick, under mild weather conditions and ran with very few major collisions a storybook trial for the organisers. or the second year in F succession and the fifth time since 2000 the overall HPV secondary trial was won by a HPV Open team from Bendigo Senior Secondary College (BSSC). The students have continued to produce exception vehicles of extremely high standards and combined with a highly disciplined training regime they are a formidable force. Interestingly in 2006, BSSC s Open entry Grug was in the lead and lapping quickly. However another HPV Open vehicle, local favourite, Highview College s Three- Nil with their new Kevlar canopy was quick enough to shave 0.2 off the 5 year old lap record now at 1:45.6! Whilst they were blistering quick on the track, the Highview crew simply spent too much time off it and the crew from Grug reinforced a key catch phrase of the Energy Breakthrough Reliability is everything. These teams were first and second on the track and also held those positions in their class and although Grug was 6 laps clear at the flag, they only just snuck home by.67 on the overall scores 92.90 to 92.23. The Bendigo Senior team also won the Open Design & Construction Award for their carbon fibre and Kevlar creation despite a mix-up at Presentations. Kingswood College s Evo 5 team won Display & Presentation. The BSSC team are the feature of a recent article on the Energy Breakthrough website check out the News section. Bendigo Senior s HPV C vehicle kept to the winning formula, out pacing the all-girls line-up from St Margaret s School Blonde, and also receiving the award for Best Display & Presentation (HPV C). The Blonde girls however were racing away to a new record of their own the furthest distance travelled by an all-girls team. You can read an interview with the team on the RACV Energy Breakthrough website. Damascus College s This Way Up was awarded Design & Construction (HPV C) but they actually carried it across the finish line upside down HPV s in 2006 after a major bingle 20 minutes prior to the finish. (For images of this incident, head to Gallery 2 on the EB website) The crew at Flora Hill SC finally took home the silverware for the HPV B class the largest class in the Secondary HPV category. The team called Gumbatron were out to commemorate the 50 th anniversary of the plasticine figure Gumby and finished 10 laps clear of Weeroona College s new Silver Bullet and 33 laps ahead of Maryborough Ed Centre s Lighting McQueen. Damascus College again claimed Design & Construction (HPV B) and Bairnsdale Secondary s Secret Squirrels managed to collect enough points to claim Display & Presentation (HPV B) Up on the stage, Nigel, Dan Mills, Stuey Mills, Duncan and Tom B kept the pit crews and supporters cruising with a widerange of competitions and some dulcet tunes. Certainly the female teacher who drew on a moustache for the Mow-vember competition is worth a mention and other comps included the Best Team Photo and the Conservation Award (for the vehicle with the least scratches on Sunday morning.) The stage teams will be designating 2 3 hour supervised slots for interested students in 2007. Contact the EB office for more details. The crew at IGA Corner, also known as Dunny Corner or Corner 7 were still busy throughout the event, but with a redesigned entry courtesy of the RACV, they had more time to relax and enjoy the event. Last year we experienced over 70 major incidents and this year, we ve had 11 so far, regular corner 7 marshal Shane, said late on Saturday night. Most feedback received to date has praised the new configuration, which is expected to be repeated in 2007. But of course it s not just about the winners and crashes! It is about the smiles on people s faces, young and old, that make the Energy Breakthrough such a spectacular event. The feedback we ve received this year has been overwhelming Best event so far, and I ve been coming for 10 years! has been just one of the responses we ve received.

2006 REVIEW PAGE 3 T he 2006 RACV Energy Breakthrough was a huge success for the local community of Maryborough and the Central Goldfields Shire Council. With favourable weather conditions for the riders, the event had the best competition conditions for the last ten years. The RACV provided their professional expertise, support, and management to ensure the Scrutineering, Design & Construction, and Race Management was once again of the highest quality. The new signage on the RACV Pedestrian Bridge looked outstanding, and certainly showcased the new look RACV. Once again campers were met by our friendly Car Parking Attendants from Tracy The Placement People, and a smooth transition into the appropriate parking areas was achieved. MARTY S MUSINGS The widening of the Hockey Clubrooms pedestrian bridge on the Holden Track improved pedestrian movement in the HPVA, Tryathlon, and Hybrid events, and we at the RACV Energy Breakthrough are thankful to the Central Goldfields Shire Council for their support again in 2006. The Sustainable Energy BreakFest was once again a huge success in 2006. The Sustainable Energy Information Partnership has established itself as the name sponsor of this aspect of the event, and lifted the profile of the event in 2006. Many thanks must go to Transurban for their sponsorship of the new Lap Counting Equipment for the event ( Cheesey was a big hit with the young and young at heart participants in the event as well). Thanks also to Powercor for their sponsorship of the Tryathlon, Central Highlands Water for the Innovations in Technology, KFC for their pedestrian bridge on the Holden Track, and Bendigo IT for the website. To the many other major and local sponsors of the RACV Energy Breakthrough, the Local Planning Committee expresses its most sincere thanks for their on-going and vital support of this fantastic youth event. The RACV Energy Breakthrough involves in excess of 300 volunteers in all aspects of the event including judging, marshalling, catering, first aid services, repairs, camping, sports massage, administration, traffic management, track management, waste management and recycling, newsletters, stage management and entertainment, event setup and pack-up, communications, trophy design, event program coordination, and photography. Without this enormous volunteer commitment the event would not be the success that it is, if run at all. The event management is sincerely thankful to all its volunteers. The newly renovated Maryborough Outdoor Pool was also of great benefit to all the participants in the event, and the Central Goldfields Shire Council is proud of its Heritage Listed aquatic facility. Let the energy be yours and I ll see you all again in 2007, Martin Mark RACV Energy Breakthrough Local Planning Coordinator

PAGE 4 ENERGY BREAKTHROUGH 2006 REVIEW 2006 Innovations in Technology (Proudly sponsored by CENTRAL HIGHLANDS WATER) nnovations commenced I in glittering sunshine with a gentle breeze and twenty-two entries presenting for judging. This year we welcomed new schools to the event, especially from Dunolly and the Alpine Cluster (Bright, Harrietville and Myrtleford) which included our First ever Entry from a Secondary School: Myrtleford SC in Moving Water. Entry numbers fluctuated during this year with several teams withdrawing right up to Saturday. Although there were just three entries in Moving Water, each team produced innovative, colourful working models which all completed the set task. Innovations included using rainfall as well as melting snow to fill catchments to irrigate plants, drive waterwheel yellow warning device and generate electricity; showed the use of grey-water; solar power to generate chairlift to top of a mountain; water recycled to complete the cycle! Well done: Mt Achu, Water Warriors and Skatorade. Judges in Crafty Design were entertained by varied team presentations and a wide variety of craft representing backswimmers, crustaceans and water dragons and jellyfish. During Sail-Off the glittering sunshine was hidden for a while by unwelcome cloud cover; this proved unfortunate for teams which relied only on solar power; also the breeze changed to gusty wind which sent some craft into reverse. Just one craft completed the task: Bairnsdale s Team 2. This craft reached the end of the tank in 22.34 seconds (under 3 minutes) and without be- Waste and Recycling a Success in 2006 ing assisted by the team (did not even need a touch to keep it from hitting the side of tank!). Please note that the fee of $75 (as for 2006) covers up to five entries for either Crafty Design and/or Moving Water; but please complete a separate entry form for each team entered. Best wishes for a safe and happy festive season with happy summer holidays to follow. Tricia Walsh Convenor, Innovations in Technology The Energy Breakthrough has again been a resounding success as a Waste Wise Event. The new WW banner was placed in a prominent position next to administration and the other large banners were placed on fences near the Jubilee Oval and the Hockey field the same as last year. The Carisbrook Recreation Complex Group again did an excellent job managing the waste and recycling systems on-site. Campers also are to be congratulated for the way in which they support our waste reduction initiatives by recycling as much as they can. If you were up bright and early on Friday and Saturday mornings you would have seen the garbage truck coming in to collect the waste. This new system, which was trialled last year, involves bringing most of the wheelie bin waste to a central point for collection in a normal compacter truck reducing the number of unsightly dump skips required. Recycling Crates were again used by campers for large items such as 20L water bottles and cardboard with minimal contamination. Key Improvements for 2007 will be improved signage for bins and an increase in the number and repositioning of wheelie bins to make it even easier to campers to dispose of their waste and recycling appropriately. Recycling Cage near the entrance to Princes Park Oval The Waste Management Team in action No litter - brilliant

2006 REVIEW PAGE 5 chools entering Tryathlon teams undergo S scrutineering, and participate in the Display & Presentation and Design & Construction sections like other HPVs. There are also three Track components: Time Trial, Obstacle and Endurance resulting in the most widely assessed category at the Breakthrough. The event also involves primary, secondary and senior secondary teams trialling together, but treated separately with regard to results. This category continues to grow rapidly with 32 teams taking part this year. This is an increase of nearly 70% on 2005 numbers. The Powercor Australia Tryathlon an event initially created to allow those who d missed the Big Fields in 2006 Powercor Tryathlon quota for the HPV endurance events an alternative is now an excellent stand alone event in its own right. It is now considered the ideal event for first time schools who want to take on something less than the 24 hour event. Berwick SC s Firepower and Maryborough Education Centre s The Sting out-performed all other teams in the endurance event, completing 210 laps each. There were 10 teams competing in Tryathlon A and the winner was Beaconsfield Upper PS (Full Throttle). Runner-up was the Beaconsfield PS entry (Incredibles). Beaconsfield Upper also the Track Events component and Design & Construction. Moorooduc PS (White Lite) won Display & Presentation. In Tryathlon B/C seven teams competed and Seymour THS (Systematic) was the winner from Toorak College s Joker. The track events component was won by Toorak College (Joker). Design & Construction was won by Seymour (Systematic) while St Helena SC (St Helles Belles) won Display & Presentation. Among the 15 starters, Wedderburn P-12 teams dominated Tryathlon Open but the Maryborough Education Centre entry The Sting put in a very strong performance in the endurance event to claim overall runner-up prize. Wedderburn P-12 (Unit 1) was the overall winner and the team also won the Track Events component and Design & Construction. Unit 2 also from Wedderburn won Display & Presentation. A big thank you to all Team Managers and assistants who helped run the Time Trial and Obstacle events. The EBT organisers particularly appreciate those who helped with observing and scoring the races, ensuring rider changeover procedures were correctly followed and assembling the teams when required their work was essential to the running of the event. n 2006 there was a total I of 78 pushcart teams that made it on to the track at Maryborough for the RACV Energy Breakthrough. Friday was hot but not unbearable so a full program of pushcart events was able to be run. There were 23 teams entered in section 1 which caters for smaller primary schools. Design and Construction was won by Gir- garre PS while Lockwood PS and Welton PS shared the honours in Display and Presentation. Lockwood PS also won the Track Events component. With the three components combined, the overall winner was Lockwood PS with a total of 80.90. The runnerup team was Welton PS with a score of 76.51. Section 2 for primary schools with larger enrol- Pushcarts 2006 ments had 55 teams entered. Camelot Rise won Design and Construction while Stawell West PS was the successful team in Display and Presentation. The Track Events winner was Yarraman Park PS who also won the track component in 2005. The overall winner was Camelot Rise with 78.41 points. The runner-up was Cockatoo PS team with a score of 77.98. Congratulations to everyone who participated and contributed to the success of the Pushcarts at the 2006 Breakthrough.

PAGE 6 ENERGY BREAKTHROUGH 2006 REVIEW 2006 Sustainable Energy BreakFEST et another successful Y Energy Breakthrough event is behind us! This is the second year the Sustainable Energy Information Partnership (SEIP) has sponsored the Break- FEST. We had a great response from both schools and the general community, with many visitors to the SEIP information tent agreeing to fill out our survey, or complete the online eco footprint quiz (made possible by the loan of a Next G internet card from Telstra Countrywide thanks guys!). The eco footprint is certainly an eye opener it shows how many planets worth of resources we would need if everyone in the world lived like we do. The going rate for visitors to the Energy Breakthrough seemed to be about four planets, which shows we re doing better than other countries, but still have a long way to go. If you missed out and would like to try the eco footprint for yourself, go to www.earthday.org and click on the ecological footprint link on the right of the page. We also had a lucky dip, in which kids dipped into a box and picked out a ping pong ball with one of four symbols on it. Three of them led to magnetic cards with an action relating to conserving energy, waste or water, which they could take home and put on their fridge as a reminder. The fourth was a prize and we went through quite a few of those! To all who visited the SEIP tent and had a go at the lucky dip I hope your card is on your fridge and you re remembering to follow through with it! Even though the Energy Breakthrough event is over, the SEIP is certainly not back to business as usual. We re still providing a wide range of useful and relevant information on living more sustainably, and we re also working on our next big project a website to assist businesses in working more sustainably. The intention is to positively profile businesses and organisations who already employ sustainable workplace practices, and to inspire others to follow suit by showing how easy it can be, and how every small change can make a difference. If you would like more information or your school or a business you know would like to contribute go to www.greenyourbusiness.org.au for more information. As mentioned in the Energy Breakthrough 2006 program, the SEIP is a partnership between Bendigo Access Employment (BAE), a not-forprofit organisation, and Sustainability Victoria. BAE has committed to a number of projects to promote sustainability in the community, including PepperGreen Farm, a community, environmental and heritage park in Thunder Street, Bendigo. Among other things, PepperGreen Farm runs programs in collaboration with local schools, both primary and secondary, on sustainable horticulture and reducing energy use at home and at school. If you would like more information on any of the projects run by the SEIP, please contact Lisa Mariah on 0414 360 555 (or email lisa@claritypoint.com.au).

2006 REVIEW PAGE 7 T he 2006 Sustainable Energy BreakFEST was again a huge success with 14 exhibitors and 5 food vendors being a part of the festivities. These were of course in addition to the ever popular carnival component of the event which saw some huge attractions operating in Princes Park. The marquee of our naming rights sponsor, the Sustainable Energy Information Partnership (SEIP), was attended heavily throughout the weekend Paul s Perspective on the BREAKFEST and it is hoped that they will return again in a similar capacity for 2007 and beyond. Electric Vehicles Pty. Ltd., Maffra Secondary College (displaying a hovercraft), Southern Aurora and the Department of Defence all experienced plenty of interest from competitors and spectators alike. RACV Energy Breakthrough event sponsors, Telstra and Central Highlands Water also displayed within the Sustainable Energy BreakFEST and added to the professionalism of this already highly popular event. A huge thank you must go to Maryborough resident Lois Broad who helped to coordinate the Sustainable Energy BreakFEST in the weeks leading up to, and on the weekend of the event. Without your help and assistance on this project it would not have ran anywhere near as smoothly. The RACV Energy Break- through Local Planning Committee would like to thank all of those involved with the 2006 Sustainable Energy BreakFEST, particularly our naming rights sponsor, SEIP, and those groups that exhibited at the event. If you know of anyone who may wish to be involved as an exhibitor for the 2007 Energy Break- FEST please contact Martin Mark at martinm@cgoldshire.vic.gov.au or on 03 5461 0621 after the 1 st February 2007. T he 2006 RACV Energy Breakthrough was the third year that designated car parking and traffic management had been operating for the event and the majority of feedback to Breakthrough organizers has been extremely positive. After significant delays due to a formidable wind storm on the Tuesday evening prior to the events start, out traffic management crew (trained locally by Tracy the Placement People) were able to operate at full strength. Wednesday and Thursday 2006 Traffic Management proved to be the most hectic, with the majority of event participants arriving a half day to a day earlier than previous years. In total, 764 cars were parked within the events designated areas, an increase of 62 cars from 2005. It also appeared upon observation that more schools chose to take the free parking option of bringing a bus or two along to the RACV Energy Breakthrough (remembering that all buses can park free of charge at the event). We encourage schools to use this option to travel to Maryborough. A shuttle bus was added to the traffic management plan in 2006 to assist people leaving the Breakthrough site in order to visit some of Maryborough s attractions. Although this service experienced less than anticipated patronage in 2006, it should be trialled again in 2007, aiming to improve its operation to make it a useful service for all spectators, participants and visitors to the RACV Energy Breakthrough. All in all it appeared that the 2006 traffic management plan worked more efficiently than previous years. The RACV Local Planning Committee would like to thank its traffic management group for their hard work and patience and to all of those visitors to the RACV Energy Breakthrough who took advantage of the events designated car parking areas. The committee understands that adequate parking for all is an ongoing issue and endeavours to continually improve this service for all involved.

RACV Energy Breakthrough Maryborough, Victoria www.racvenergybreakthrough.net "It's more than an event, it's a new way of learning" RACV Energy Breakthrough Sponsors Volunteers needed for 2007 s you would no doubt A be aware, the RACV Energy Breakthrough relies very heavily on volunteer input for the smooth and efficient running of all aspects of the 4-day program. Volunteers are involved in administration, event management, event set-up and dismantling, judging, marshalling, food provision, entertainment, camping, massage provision, waste management, and provision of first aid services. The 2006 event had an estimated 300+ volunteers in a wide variety of fields. However we need more help in 2007. If you would like to assist in the 2007 RACV Energy Breakthrough your services would be greatly appreciated. We are particularly looking for assistance in site set-up on Tuesday and Wednesday prior to events starting, more judges for Display and Presentation panels, and would like volunteers to help in 2-3 hour supervised timeslots on the RACV Stage as announcers. Also anyone who would like to be a flag marshal please let us know. Volunteers should contact: Martin Mark (5461 0621) <martinm@cgoldshire.vic.gov.au>