Goodwood Gathering of Goblins 2019

Greenpower Gathering of Goblins 2019 

Greenpower Education Trust is celebrating a successful Gathering of Goblins event at the historic Goodwood Motor Circuit, which took place on Sunday 21st July.

The Gathering was one of the top highlights on the 2019 Greenpower calendar and marked the largest meet of its Goblin category, which sees participants aged 9 - 11-years-old take part in the design-build-race category with their own fully-electric cars. 83 teams took part in the event in West Sussex and competed in a series of drag, slalom and sprint races, as well as a pit stop challenge.

Sunday at Goodwood circuit was a display of a brilliant array of colours, designs and engineering skills. From an eye-catching feathery flamingo to a green alien, the cars perfectly captured the imagination and spirit of the Greenpower Goblin teams.

In addition to the usual challenges, Gathering of Goblins offered teams the opportunity to take part in a full tour of Goodwood circuit in the Lap of Champions. Enthusiastic supporters, including parents, friends, and the local community, came along to watch the festivities and cheer the cars as they made their way around the track. Boskenwyn School completed the lap in the quickest time (just under nine minutes) and reached a top speed of 16.1mph.

Entrants are not judged on speed alone. Teams can win prizes for their portfolio, which showcases their work in a creative way. Weaving You Behind and Rebellion of Newick CoE school were awarded first and second prize for their submission, while Apollo 11 of Funtington Primary School took home the bronze portfolio award. Blackwell Shrek (Blackwell Primary School) was declared Best Bodywork; Chesswood Junior School’s Will Power and Chesswood Champion were jointly awarded Best Presented; and Slindon was awarded Greenest Bodywork. The overall winner of the Gathering of Goblins event was Beachborough School with their car, Arty Abby, having won the sprint race and classed highly in the drag and pit stop challenges.

To mark the momentous occasion in Greenpower’s 20th anniversary year, as well as to thank Greenpower team members and volunteers for their hard work and support, the charity held a special one-off race. Attendees over the age of 12-years-old were invited to take to the track in one of the Goblin cars. The oldest participant was a 79-year-old, who proved age is just a number as they showed the young competitors exactly how it is done.

Paul van Veggel, CEO of Greenpower Education Trust

"The first ever Greenpower event was held at Goodwood in 1999, so it was a fitting location for one of the largest gathering of Goblin teams in our 20th anniversary year. Since that first event, we have worked with many 10’s of thousands of young people in our mission to spark their interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths – and tackle the skill shortage we currently face in the UK. We now work with over 700 teams and 10,000 students every year in the UK, and we hope to work with many more in our next 20 years."

Greenpower relies on the support of volunteers throughout their design-build-race challenge, from those who dedicate their time helping teams design and build their car, to those who help us on the day with setting up, scrutineering, marshalling, and the rest! We were pleased to be able to thank them for their hard work and dedication with a surprise 12+ race, and it was brilliant to see a variety of people take to the circuit for a lap of honour.”

The Greenpower team