Students from the Scarborough Academy for Technological, Environmental and Computer (SATEC) Sciences program at W. A. Porter Collegiate Institute in Scarborough are headed to Singapore to compete in the F1 Model World Competition, the latest accomplishment in a journey that has had numerous challenges.
The students, whose team is called Nitro Racing, had the fastest lap times of the seven Canadian teams and received the award for best digital marketing of all the 27 teams in the competition, April 7-9 in North Carolina.
“My dad told me before I went that I would win and I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m going to win,” said team manager Joel Sam Binish. “But it is surprising, though. We had some ups and downs throughout the journey. One of our cars started breaking down (in the U.S.) every now and then. There were issues with the wings. We had to do repairs almost every day.”
It was the latest obstacle Sam Binish and teammates Ramisa Obaid, Antonis Kefallonitis, Arun Rajakumar, and Arunavo Barua had to overcome.
About three days before leaving, the machine used to shape the car specifications for weight and proper dimensions broke. The cars built for the previous competitions had wear and tear that couldn’t be repaired and needed to be replaced. After trying various sources, a part was found at a hardware outlet. Three cars were produced — two for the competition and one for display.
The team also had some issues for the Canadian competition.
“These are the toughest kids I know,” said Nikola Cunjak, one of the school’s Vice Principals. “Their ability to persevere is inspirational. I said on the announcements on Monday I knew we were the best school in Toronto. Now we’re the best school in Canada because of these kids. They represent the school so well.”
Some students come from lower-income families in the east end of Toronto and needed financial support for the North American competition to pay for travel, accommodations, and their display. Collectively it cost in excess of $15,000, but the expenses for the world competition will amount to $70,000.
Sam Binish wanted to acknowledge the assistance of Emmanuel Papathanasakis, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) Caring and Safe Schools Advisor for his moral and financial support for the U.S. trip.
The TDSB supports 130 schools, primarily in Scarborough, and Papathanasakis has been working to support youth through the creation of the Youth Employability Preparation Program (YEPP) that provides students with $1,000 upon completion.
Some of the W.A. Porter team members took part in the program to earn some funds to help them financially for the trip. Papathanasakis said Agnico Eagle, a Canadian-based mining company, has been a large supporter of the YEPP program with corporate funding.
“When we found out about the North Carolina trip, I said we’ll figure out how to raise the money,” said Papathanasakis.
“Agnico Eagle Mines have been a real spark in leading some of these youth initiatives because they feel a corporate responsibility. It’s just a caring perspective and a cumulative piece of people wanting to do good in our neighborhood but also programs like this across the city.”
Papathanasakis said he will again work to help with the funding for the students for the world competition.
“I think it’s a good initiative for us to work together to do that,” said Papathanasakis.
