At a glance
The Alfred State College BUV (basic utility vehicle) team returned to prominence by winning first place in the Main Division of the 10th Annual National Basic Utility Vehicle Competition in Indianapolis, IN.
The Alfred State College BUV (basic utility vehicle) team returned to prominence by winning first place in the Main Division of the 10th Annual National Basic Utility Vehicle Competition in Indianapolis, IN.
A BUV is, according to the Institute for Affordable Transportation (IAT) which sponsors the competition, a vehicle for change. Its purpose is to help meet peoples’ everyday needs at the ends of the earth, promote trade, and reduce poverty at a grassroots level.
The specifications for the Main Division are changed every year by the Institute for Affordable Transportation. This year the emphasis was on a farming theme, which required the vehicle to perform functions of a hybrid farm tractor and a three-wheeled cargo vehicle. In addition to the traditional events of acceleration, agility, endurance, obstacle course, and mogul field, the new events included plowing a furrow for a buried pipeline, tilling soil, pulling a 400 lb sled, pumping water into and out of an on-board 55-gallon drum, and a tractor pull. The full drum was a required load during all the events. The Open Division consists of those teams that do not conform to the basic specifications of the year’s theme but still want to compete at the national level.
ASC’s margin of victory in the Main Division over second-place University of Missouri- Columbia (68.56) was a decisive 10.83 points. Third place was the University of Cincinnati (58.31) followed by Northern Illinois University. The winner of the Open Division was the perennial strong finisher Calera High School, AL, with a four-wheel vehicle. John Brown University, AK, which won the Open Division last year came in second followed by the University of Cincinnati’s second team and Purdue University.
A total of 11 teams competed. The ASC Team outscored all entries in both the Main and the Open Divisions of the event with a point total score of 79.43.
Members of the ASC Basic Utility Vehicle (BUV) Team included Josh Howell, Wantage, NJ; Jeremy Conjura, Campbell Hall; AJ Macey, Troy; Jason Durst, Rochester; and Brian Triolo, Wappingers Falls, all seniors in the www.drivebuv.org.