About
The Ride Engineering Competition
The Ride Engineering Competition [REC] is a volunteer-run non-profit organization that aims to provide professional level engineering experience to an ever-growing pool of passionate university students. The REC is the only hands-on engineering competition in the attractions industry, giving students vital skills for industry professional positions, and a metric for large and small amusement industry members to recruit experienced young professionals.
Each year, teams of university students ranging from 3 to 30+ members each spend 6 months designing, documenting, and manufacturing amusement rides for small candy riders. At our event in April, teams operate and maintain their rides for a full day.
Our Key Goals
Industry Focused Education
We Introduce concepts of Risk Assessment and ASTM F24 Compliance that university programs do not cover, leading teams to conduct complete documentation for their ride.
Experience through Challenge
Teams must build and operate the rides they design. Students are challenged to exceed professional expectations. Only one team has scored above 50% of available points.
Actionable Feedback
Industry Volunteers hold students to a professional standard, providing 15+ sections of feedback per team, giving students a clear path for continuous growth.
The REC has seen extensive growth in recent years.
Over 510 students have graduated from the program, with the highest year being 370 participants from 27 Universities, and higher annual participation projected in the future.
500+
Student Alumni
40+
50+
Participating Universities
Functional Ride Models created by Students