The York School Interviewed past winners Julia OB and William C. for an inside look into the sport where they give advice to this year’s crop of newly minted champions.
Q. What was your design and how did you come up with it?
J.OB - My design was based on the Blue Jays and their 2016 season, which was the year I was in grade 7. I used the slogan from that year, and naturally the bat flip as it was the most legendary part of baseball at the time.
WC - I designed a Montreal Expos car because me and my brother enjoy watching baseball together. Interestingly, 3 out of the last 5 derby winners have had cars with some form of connection to baseball (tip for future participants). Baseball and equal weight distribution were both factored into my final design.

Q. On car names - What's in a name? From Breadstick, to The Arrow to Housecat, cars seem to have unique names. How important is it to name your car properly to give it an edge?
J.OB - I didn't have an official name for my car, which in retrospect is sad, but I did call it Jose a few times.
WC - When my grade competed in the derby, we were not required to name our cars. From watching the derby this year, it was interesting how everyone correlated the car's design with its name - mousey cheese, fireball and breadsticks were some of my personal favourites. The name can't increase the car's speed, but it can definitely give some cars the edge in the "people's choice" vote.

What learnings from design and aerodynamics (and winning) have you taken with you into the rest of your student life?
J.OB - I learned to make my car smooth, thin, triangular and make sure it could slice through the air as it went down the ramp, which I suppose are approaches I have used when doing any work or projects as an IB student. I also learned to be proud of what you accomplish and all your epic victories but to make sure you remain kind and supportive of the people you have competed with.
WC - This project enables everyone to work on their time management, organizational, and reflection skills. I learnt that through planning, preparation, testing and reflection is vital to success within the IB program. As I look back, there were much larger lessons that came out of the derby then I initially realized.