edinburgh
international
science
festival
walking on water
a
of science
walking on water
a
of science
Registration form 2003
Race entering (please circle either):
Race 1 – Under £50
Team Name
Race 2 – £50 or over
Are you School? Yes / No
Names of your five team members
Captain & Contact (if school, must be teacher) (please tick box next to one name)
1 Shoe Pilot (competent swimmer)
2 Swimmer behind Pilot (competent swimmer)
3 Start Assistant 1 (pool side)
4 Start Assistant 2 (pool side)
5 Finish Assistant (pool side)
Captain Address
Post code
Daytime telephone number
Email
Note: communication from the Science Festival will be by email where possible.
Please provide us with three quirky lines about your team, including where you are from.
If any team members are under 16yrs, parents or guardians to sign here (please copy this section on extra paper as required)
Participants Name(s)
Age
Address
I hereby give permission for my child to participate in the above named event, and be photographed whilst at the Royal Commonwealth Pool on 11 April 03
Parent/ Guardian Name
Signature
COMPETITION DETAILS
Friday 11 April 03 – time of race heats and finals to be advised the week before by email. The Guinness World Record for 40m
walk on water will be set on the day – all heats will be timed, the fastest time of the day will set the record.
Royal Commonwealth Pool, Dalkeith Road, Edinburgh
DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION Wednesday March 26, 2003 Note: first come first served. Places are limited.
PLEASE TICK THESE BOXES
We have read and accept the competition rules and accept possible later amendments
We enclose a £5 cheque made payable to Edinburgh International Science Festival
We accept that information on this form may be made public (excluding your contact details)
PLEASE POST THIS FORM TO Edinburgh International Science Festival,
Warriston Close, 343 High Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1PW
Tel: 0131 220 0622
edinburgh
international
science
festival
walking on water
a
of science
how to make your shoes
Walking on Water shoes are surprisingly
easy and cheap to make.
For a basic pair all you need is some material to give
possible widths and heights for your shoes. Of course, if they
are too wide, you might have some problem walking as you
will have to keep you feet rather far apart!
buoyancy, some material to give strength and something
Next you’ll be wondering about how to go faster. From what
to bind the structure together. Finally you’ll need a way
we have seen at New Scientist, the best method of moving
of keeping yourselves connected to the floats, but not so
across the water is by a motion similar to that used by a
connected that you can’t kick them off if you lose your
cross-country skiier. That means you want your shoes to
balance.
glide forward on the surface of the water easily but not to slip
For buoyancy, blocks of polystyrene or lots of empty plastic
water bottles will do very well.
backwards. The design of Walking-on-Water shoes is still in
its infancy but it seems that fins and flaps on the bottom of
the shoes may help make this easier, although they are not
For strength, a sheet of wood such as plywood will work
essential and we are not sure to what extent fitness and good
successfully and is easy to cut to shape.
technique is actually of prime importance.
Heavy duty waterproof plastic tape can be used to bind
At simplest, a zig-zag cut into the underside of the shoes can
the structure together.
make them slide forward more easily than they can slide back
The diagrams on the attached page give some ideas of
how you can combine these materials. They are all drawn
to illustrate the elements of design from shoes that we know
have worked.
(see graphic). A more sophisticated approach uses hinged
flaps. One design we have seen has a set of flaps that rotate
around a series of horizontal hinges. The flaps lift upwards
and flush with the bottom of the shoes as you slide forward,
and then dropping down to resist backward movement (see
To connect yourself to the shoes, the simplest method is to
graphic). Another design uses a set of vertical pegs, each
strap a simple pair of slip-on plastic sandals to them. It’s easy
bearing a pair of flaps like a butterfly's wing. As a shoe
to get your feet out if you lose your balance. Remember the
moves forward the wings rotate around the vertical axis,
rules prevent any kind of shoe that ties the wearer into them –
come together and close. If the wearer tries to slide a foot
so no buckles or straps across ankles are allowed.
backwards, the wings open. In either design, some simple
How big should the shoes be? The important thing to
pieces of string can be used to restrict how far the flaps or
remember is Archimedes Principle, which for the shoe builder
wings open.
can be put simply as a “floating object displaces an amount
Of course, there may be lots of other ways of constructing
of liquid equal to its own weight.”
the shoes that don't use polystyrene or plastic bottles. You
That means that if you know your own weight, you can easily
could construct a pair of lightweight wooden canoe-like
calculate the minimum volume of water your shoes will need
shoes, for example. The science of walking on water is for
to displace to keep you afloat once you are standing on
you to explore!
them. (The calculation is especially simple if you measure
Finally, there’s training. To enter the race, you’ll have to certify
your weight in kilos, as a litre of water weighs one kilo). After
that you’ve managed to get across a swimming pool in them
that you might want to add a bit more volume to your shoes
and that you can swim. So you’ll need to try out your shoes in
in order keep your feet above the waterline. Then, knowing
a suitable pool. Remember that you’ll need other people with
the volume of your shoes and that the race rules specify their
you at all times.
maximum length at 2.5 metres, you can calculate a set of
walking on water
edinburgh
international
science
festival
a
of science
competition
1 Design Excellence (Prize £1000)
Awarded to the shoes that have exceptional design /
engineering qualities and work, but are not perhaps the
fastest. There is no limit of finance to be spent on the
construction of the shoes.
2 Speed Race 1 – the fastest shoes to walk 40m on water
Limit of £50 per entry to be spent on the design and
construction of the shoes (Prize £1000).
3 Speed Race 2 – the fastest shoes to walk 40m on water
Minimum limit of £50 and no upper limit per entry to be
spent on the design and construction of the shoes
(Prize £1000).
Guinness World Record:
All races will be attempting to break a world record – fastest
speed on top of 40m of water by foot.
School’s Prize:
A special school’s prize will be presented to the fastest school
entry, details to be announced
COMPETITION
• Entry is £5 per team (£1 per team member). Spectators on
the day are free
• Heats take place from midday, the main race will take place
after 2pm
• Local registration may take place on Thursday 10 April, we
will advise you in advance of your registration and heat times
• Entrants will be individually timed in each heat & the finals –
the fastest race time during the day will set the Guinness
World Records (subject to approval by Guinness)
• Shoe Pilot (walker) to be assisted onto water by team members
• Once standing and under starting orders, the pilot cannot
be assisted by team members until at the other end of the pool
• Shoes to be touching start line
• Race starts at sound of bell/horn
• Race finishes at front of shoe touching finish line
• 1ST prize of £1000 will go to the first pilot across the finish
line in both Speed Race 1 (spend of less than £50 on shoes)
and Speed Race 2 (spend of more than £50 on shoes).
A special School Prize will go to the fastest school entry.
Rules
GUINNESS WORLD RECORD™:
FASTEST FORTY METRES
SHOES
The specific considerations, in addition to the general
requirements, for any potential attempt on the Walking on
water – fastest forty metres record are as such:
• Buoyancy should be provided by two independent floats.
These floats may be of any design, with a maximum length
of 2.5m and a maximum width of 2m.
• Two shoes to be used
• Any material to be used in construction, but must not
pollute water
• Human powered apparatus only
• Not to be connected to each other
• No above ankle support or any form of binding that would
prevent feet immediately coming free and detaching from
the shoes in the event of a fall or capsize
• No motorisation
• No external support or propulsion (ie. paddles or balancing poles)
• Not to exceed 2.5m each in length
• Not to exceed 2m each in width
• Shoes must traverse the surface of the water
• Shoes must be tested prior to the competition
• Be available all day if required
TEAM
• 5 team members needed
1 = shoe pilot
2 = to assist with getting into shoes and onto water
1 = to swim behind entrant
1 = to assist with disembarking at finish line
• At least 3 team members must be competent swimmers
• Teams must trial their shoes prior to attending
the main competition
• Open to all ages
The Edinburgh International Science Festival, New Scientist,
City of Edinburgh Council, Scottish Executive and Edinburgh
Leisure accept no liability for accident, loss, damage or injury caused
by participating in this event. Entry to competition and pool at own risk.
• The floats may be not connected to each other. All motor
power must be provided by the participant’s feet, which
may be fastened to the floats if desired.
DESIGN PRIZE
• Shoes will be judged for design prior to entering the water
and may be subject to water contamination tests by
Commonwealth Pool staff.
A team of judges will give point scores to the shoes for:
• Use of materials
• Aesthetics
• Balance
• Ease of use
• Efficient use of pilots muscles
• Engineering skill
• 1st prize of £1000 will be awarded to the shoes deemed
to be best. The judges decision is final
DISQUALIFICATION AND ERROR
Shoes & or teams will be disqualified for:
• Not adhering to safety guidelines
• Not starting at start line
• Assistance by other people or external devices when racing
• Any alteration to the shoes after design judging
• Pollution to the pool
• Fouling opponents
• Sole discretion of Race Organiser
edinburgh
international
science
festival
walking on water
a
of science
how to make your shoes