The second annual Hover Cup race will give students a chance to fly their creations across McAfee Gym on April 9.

The registration fee is $5 per person, and each team has an option of creating a group T-shirt until Tuesday, March 28.

Any students, from high schoolers to those in college, at any skill level or major are encouraged to participate.

Teams of two to five people are required to build a hovercraft and race it across the gym.

As one team member rides the hovercraft, another will push it by using a leaf blower and a third team member will wait at the other end of the gym to catch it.

Currently displayed in the physics department is the Hover Cup trophy with the names of last year’s Hover Cup winners.

The grand prize for participants is to have their names engraved on the trophy and be a part of the history of the Hover Cup.

Last year the winning team also received a prize of $100; however, this year the prizes include a Starbucks gift basket, a $30 Penalty Box gift certificate, a $15 Dirty’s gift certificate, and giant Jenga set.

Stevie Momaly, an Eastern alumna and Hover Cup coordinator, said participants typically build their hovercrafts with leaf blowers, duct tape, plywood and a large piece of plastic.

Momaly said the competition gives students a fun reason to work with their hands and unknowingly use physics.

Besides the thrill and competitiveness of the race, Momaly said he enjoys the Hover Cup because it brings the campus together to participate in an activity involving physics.

When the Hover Cup is over, students can continue to enjoy physics by becoming a member of the Society of Physics Students, which is a resident student organization.

Adviser Donald Pakey said the club was established in the 1970s and since then, the club normally has 10 to 20 students attending meetings.

“The purpose of the club is to allow physics students to get to know each other better and socialize and to make others on campus aware of physics,” Pakey said.

The club mainly consists of physics students, as well as students with applied engineering and technology and mathematics majors.

Although the club focuses on spreading the word about physics, Momaly said the club often has what he referred to as “Messy Physics Day” where members do more

hands-on activities like creating vinegar and baking soda rockets and liquid nitrogen ice cream.

Brandi Havard, president of the Society of Physics Students, said she was excited for the upcoming Hover Cup and hopes there will be a great turnout.

The goal is to not only win but to enjoy physics in a new and unexpected way, Momaly said.

“(It can) have lasting ramifications on someone who previously thought they hated science,” he said.

Registration for the Hover Cup is open now until the day of the competition.
Students that are interested can find more information by clicking the link below.

Carole Hodorowicz can be reached at 581-2812 or cdhodorowiscz@eiu.edu