Two South Sound community colleges took top honors at an engineering competition in which the goal was to build vehicles out of paper.

The annual Human Powered Paper Vehicle Competition took place Saturday at Eastern Washington University. Tacoma Community College broke a record to take first place in the timed paper vehicle race, and Auburn's Green River Community College won first place in team spirit and second place in the presentation portion of the contest.

"It was definitely fun," said Chris Corkum, a TCC engineering student on the winning team and coordinator for the school's two teams. "I learned a lot working with my team."

Boeing computer systems manager Keith Turpin started the competition in 1997 while attending Eastern and continues to organize it each year.

The rules are simple: Teams of three or four participants must build drivable vehicles made out of paper.

At least 90 percent of the total weight must come from paper or paper products, and the remaining 10 percent can be other materials. Vehicles can weigh as much as 75 pounds.

Though there have been exceptions over the years, most teams try to perfect one of three basic designs: a bicycle, a tricycle or a wheeled chair. This year, one team showed up with what Corkum described as a "hamster wheel." Another had a four-wheeled vehicle with rack-and-pinion steering, and still another presented - but did not race - a fan-powered vehicle.

"One of the points I try to make every year is that there can be a big difference between something that looks good in theory and something that looks good in practice," Turpin said.

Turpin created the event to teach engineering students the value of teamwork and to expose them to the trial-and-error process of planning and refining projects.

"It really gives us a focus and a measure for success," said Ken Gentili, coordinator of TCC's engineering department. "It's fun, but it also lets students learn about paying attention to details to make their projects work."

Corkum and his team built a fast and sturdy bicycle out of the thick cardboard tubes in the middle of leftover news print "end rolls" donated by The News Tribune.

The race portion of the event is a relay for three racers - three 100-meter legs on an oval track. The first rider must weave through five obstacle pylons. The second has to go over a 23-foot-long ramp with an incline and a decline set at 10.6-degree angles.

And, if the vehicle is still holding together after the first two legs, the last rider must revisit the pylons and cross the finish line.

Corkum and his two teammates rode their bicycle to a one-minute-and-55-second finish, breaking the previous course record of two minutes and 20 seconds.

The school's other team built a wheeled chair that took third place.

Corkum's only regret, he said, was that his team could have gone faster. During the race, many vehicles leave their parts all over the course, Turpin said. In an unofficial race, the TCC bicycle did the course in one minute and 26 seconds.

Green River Community College in Auburn took a tricycle to the competition. The school took first place in the presentation portion of the event but didn't fare so well in the race.

Each team is required to give a formal presentation showing the planning and thought processes that go into each creation, and Turpin said the award for presentation often is more prestigious than the award for the race.

Reporter Bill Hutchens: 253-941-9636 or bill.hutchens@mail.tribnet.com.