Hello 2022 and hello Energy Breakthrough community! (It’s been a while, huh?) Gee, it sure is great to be back face-to-face with kids and teachers back in schools and getting energised about a big year ahead. On the top of our wishlist is the prospect of holding an Energy Breakthrough Festival in Maryborough this November.

Once again, the Central Goldfields Shire Council and the Country Education Partnership are joining forces, along with an array of brilliant sponsors, volunteers and supporters.

Here’s some of key updates about the Energy Breakthrough program for 2022:

A COVID-Safe EB Festival

Ah, the dreaded “COVID” word! We are optimistic about hosting a COVID-Safe Energy Breakthrough Festival from Wednesday 16 November to Sunday 20 November, 2022. No, we can’t predict the future of the COVID pandemic, but at the time of writing things are looking very positive. We will continue to work with the Department of Education and other relevant authorities to best understand what impact there will be on aspects like camping, amenities, and event activities.

Entries:

  • The good news is that entry fees remain unchanged from previous years.
  • Many existing entries have been ‘rolled over’ from previous years. If this is your school, you do not need to do anything.
  • Any schools wishing to withdraw these ‘rolled over’ teams for 2022 will be able to ‘Request a Withdrawal’ from the event via the Registration portal. 
  • All schools withdrawing teams will receive a refund, providing they submit this request prior to 5pm on Thursday 24th March.
  • NEW Entries will open from Tuesday 29th March 2022 onwards.

Entry Information:
To find out all of the dates, deadlines and details about Entries please visit:
https://www.eb.org.au/entries/

Entry Categories:
The Energy Breakthrough has five separate categories designed to cater for different levels of technology application and understanding. To understand the categories better, click here:
https://www.eb.org.au/school-zone/categories-of-entry/ 

Pushcarts:

  • Our Pushcarts will be changing to a two-day WEDNESDAY 16 November and THURSDAY 17 November program, running from approximately 9am – 6pm each day.
  • We appreciate that this change won’t suit everyone, so if you are already entered, but wish to withdraw you can do so by clicking ‘Request a Withdrawal’ from the event via the Registration portal. All withdrawn teams will receive a refund, providing they submit this request prior to 5pm on Thursday 24th March.
  • Full details of this new Pushcarts program and schedule will be released in Term 2, but block out your diaries now!
  • Pushcart specifications remain unchanged.
  • This area will be coordinated by Rob Higgins.

HPV / EEV / TRYathlon Specifications & Trial Regulations 

  • Our Human Powered Vehicle (HPV) and Energy Efficient Vehicle (EEV) Specifications remain relatively unchanged.
  • However, there is one minor change to the specifications: we have extended the maximum vehicle length by 100 mm to 2800 mm to be consistent with other events.
  • In 2022, during the Practice and Trial events, all schools will be required to provide volunteer corner marshals.
  • The timetable of the Display & Presentation, Design & Construction, Practice and Trial sessions will remain relatively consistent to previous years. Full details will be released in Term 2.
  • The ‘HPV / EEV Vehicle Specifications and Trial Regulations’ are available for download now from our ‘Schools Zone‘.

Innovations In Technology: 

  • There are some significant changes here, with Crafty Design NOT being offered in 2022. All existing Crafty Design entries will be refunded.
  • Robotics will be held as a ‘Demonstration Event’ in 2022 with Robotics Coordinator, Rob Higgins, working alongside 3-4 schools to support them.
  • This Robotics Demo Event will be reviewed by the Country Education Partnership team and – if successful – it will then be added to the 2023 Program as a fully-fledged event.
  • Junkyard Challenge WILL continue to be offered and will be led by Coordinator, Mary Preston

Display & Presentation:

  • Schools will still be encouraged to participate in the face-to-face Display & Participation component at Maryborough.
  • As per 2020, we will be offering an optional ‘Virtual Display & Presentation’ component, where videos can be submitted prior to the event for judging.
  • The intent of this process is to encourage schools to capture their Energy Breakthrough journey throughout the year, not be a media or short film contest!
  • Please note that this ‘Virtual Display & Presentation’ option will be available to Secondary HPVs and Pushcarts only in 2022. It will be reviewed for effectiveness by the Country Education Partnership team for the 2023 program.
  • This area will be coordinated by Laurie Preston.
  • Full details of this process will be released in Term 2.

Design & Construction & Scrutineering:

  • This area will remain unchanged to previous years and will be led by Mick McTigue, Tim White & Roger Fuhrmeister.

Mentor Programs, Regional Hubs, Curriculum Resources and STEM Programs

On top of all of the above, we are planning to inspire and power the imagination of students on their journey to Maryborough.

This will include opportunities to:

  • participate in our Mentor Program;
  • connect with other schools through Regional Hubs;
  • share and utilise curriculum resources; and
  • participate in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths programs like ‘Girls On Track’.