HPV reach 25 years at St Pauls
One of the popular co-curricular choices at St Paul's Anglican Grammar School is being involved with the Human Powered Vehicle (HPV) team and this year marks the 25th year HPV has been running at St Paul’s.
The 2017 team has 12 students involved and in past years has included many Alumni members.
The HPV team have just sold a vehicle, so they currently have three rideable HPV vehicles, one under construction, and a hybrid in storage.
The team will compete in five events all in Victoria this year, however in the past the team has travelled to South Australia and Tasmania for events.
Commencing with HPV meetings in 1993 and the first race in 1994, Mr Ian Maud who founded the St Paul's HPV team said that the greatest achievement has been involving so many current students, past students, parents, staff and supporters over all the years.
"In terms of race results, our best would be winning our class at the Tassie six hour one year,” he said.
“We have had other notable achievements, such as getting a linear-drive HPV to work; rebuilding a vehicle in three weeks and competing in a vehicle that was finished the morning of the race."
St Paul's is one of the only few schools left that actually design and build its own vehicles.
The majority of schools build ‘kit’ vehicles they buy from a manufacturer and many simply buy complete vehicles and race them.
Students who are involved in HPV at St Paul's say that some of the highlights are the camaraderie they build, learning technical skills, learning about the design and functioning of the vehicles and of course the thrill of competing.
When asked what he loves about being involved in HPV, Ian Maud said “I love watching what the kids get out of it,” he said.
“It’s fantastic to spend a year building something from a sketch and some materials, then seeing the look on their faces when they get out after their first ‘hot’ ride in the vehicle they helped create. “I love showing them that yes, we can do it. “The motto is there is always a solution, even if we can’t see it at the moment.
“I also enjoy seeing the ‘eureka’ moments as they realise how something works, and I enjoy the technical challenge of doing our best within a modest budget and interpreting a wad of specifications.”