With a turnout of approximately 400,000 spectators, the 31st annual U.S. Open Sandcastle Competition took place this past weekend in Imperial Beach, California. Among the 32 teams who competed at the Sunday event was our very own Platt College Sandcastle Team!!
Congratulations to the Platt College Sandcastle Team for winning 2nd place in the Creatures of the Sea category at the 2011 U.S. Open Sandcastle Competition. Job well done to the team: Victor Silva, Otto Lai, Janie Johnson, Carrie Ann Caranci, Krystiana Brzuza, Geoff Canady, Alana Brannon, Adriana Aguilar, Erica Miller, David Wagner, Gloria Aguilar. The Platt College team is comprised of digital media designers from Graphic Design, Web Design, Digital Video Production and 3D Animation backgrounds.
The Platt College Sandcastle team is no stranger to winning; in fact, this is the second year in a row that the students placed in the Creatures of the Sea event. That’s right…we are the 2010 and the 2011 second place champions for this category!
Although our talented team design their sculpture on paper ahead of time, the true challenge begins on the sand when only ten team members must coordinate their efforts, communicate well and keep their big picture vision in mind to finish successfully. On the day of the event, with the judges and the ever-constant crowd watching, the sand sculpture must be completed within the allotted 5 hour time frame. This year the team sculpted a giant octopus which had taken a boat captive breaking it in half. The sculpture and boat was dubbed the “USS Drowning Man.”
We are extremely proud of the cohesive effort our Platt Students put forth during the competition. Headed by Victor Silva, his team led us into Second Place victory two years in a row. In viewing their amazing results you can tell their Digital Media Design training and Bachelor Degrees in Media Arts, definitely paid off!
Victor and his amazing team welcome all Platt students who would like to offer support at the 2012 competition. In addition to the team, we will be looking for enthusiastic students to be our cheerleaders, water bearers and general helpers. If you are interested in participating on the sculpting team, watch for next year’s sign up as we near the 2012 event. As a friendly reminder the Platt sculpting team consists of only 10 members and spots fill up fast. So whether you make the 2012 team of sculptors, general supports and just come out to watch the team in action, let’s all participate in 2012 and help the Platt College team take the competition to the next level and win FIRST PLACE in 2012!
“The competition originated in 1981 when a group of Imperial Beach residents formed the first Sandcastle Days Committee. The U.S. Open Sandcastle Competition Committee is a nonprofit group and part of the proceeds from the event goes to benefit the Boys & Girls Club. Over the years, the event has grown to attract more than 325,000 spectators.” – Wikipedia