Rules Bridge Challenge ENISE 2026 edition

Presentation

The Bridge Challenge ENISE is a competition that invites higher education students to take on a technical challenge: building miniature bridge models made of wood. In teams of 2 to 4 people, participants must design and assemble their structure on the day of the event, in strict compliance with the specifications provided below.

To optimize the construction phase, prior preparation and the creation of a blueprint are highly recommended; a plan of the intended bridge will also be required. The models will first be judged on technical and aesthetic criteria before undergoing the ultimate test the following morning: loading until failure for those competing in the resistance category.

• Dates: April 25 and 26, 2026
• Location: Place Jean-Jaurès, Saint-Étienne

Schedule of Events :

• April 25 :        8:30 AM : Participant Welcome

9:00 AM – 6:00 PM : Construction of the models

8:00 PM : Dinner and social evening organized by the association

• April 26 :        9:00 AM : Jury Review

10:30 AM : Bridge Loading

1:30 PM : Awards Ceremony

Registration

• Registration takes place on our website under the “Inscriptions” tab : https://www.bridge-challenge-enise.fr

• Registration opens on January 26, 2026, and closes on April 5, 2026. However, if the maximum capacity (approximately 25 teams) is reached, registration will close automatically at an earlier date.

• To validate your registration, you must pay the registration fees and provide a photocopy of the student ID for each team member. These documents must be sent to the following address before April 5, 2026 :

mael.dando—leclerc@enise.fr

Bridge Challenge ENISE

58 rue Jean Parot

42100 Saint-Étienne

Important Dates Recap :

• Monday, January 26, 2026: Registration opens
• Sunday, April 5, 2026: Registration closes
• April 25 and 26, 2026: Competition days

Registration Fees

Fees cover competition entry and will increase after the March 15, 2026 deadline. For participants requiring accommodation, a supplement will be requested in addition to the registration fee.

* Accommodation on Friday, Saturday, and/or Sunday nights incurs an additional per-person, per-night fee (amount to be communicated soon).

Payment is made via bank transfer on the AssoConnect platform.

2026 Categories

This year, as with the previous one, the competition will be divided into two categories: the architecture category and the resistance category.

Only the teams having chosen the resistance category will have their bridge subjected to the loading which will take place on Sunday. The models in the architecture category will therefore not be loaded nor destroyed. The best bridge in the architecture category will be awarded the architecture prize.

The best bridge in the resistance category will be awarded the resistance prize.

Finally, all bridges will be evaluated in order to award the engineering prize (jury consisting of professionals from partner companies and teachers from ENISE) and the public choice award.

Technical Regulations

Common Construction Elements:

• Deck: 1 MDF (medium) board (1250 x 140 mm).
• 1 OSB board for the bridge base 600x2000x30th. mm
• 1 siporex aerated concrete block 200x250x350 mm (height)
• 1 siporex aerated concrete block 200x250x250 mm (height)
• 2 siporex aerated concrete blocks 150x150x250 mm (height)
• 1 jar of wood glue (approximately 160g), 1 tube of super glue (5g), kitchen twine (20m), 6kg fishing line (30m length).
• Balsa wood in the form of 1m long strips, with different sections (see table).

Table of available strips for the construction of the bridge

The total weight of the balsa strips is 273,14 grams.

 Any material (glue, balsa, rope, etc.) other than those provided is strictly prohibited under penalty of disqualification.

All materials (such as nails, screws…) are authorized but must not be present on the bridge: they must only assist in its construction.

Any electrical device (screwdriver, drill…) is prohibited.

Teams competing in the architecture category may be provided with extra glue if necessary (the need for extra glue must be justified to the organizing team during the event).

Constraints and Prohibitions :

Base:

The siporex blocks with dimensions 200x250x350ht and 200x250x250ht will serve as abutments for the bridge. Both will be spaced 1000 mm apart with no load-bearing elements between them.

The 2 other siporex blocks with dimensions 150x150x250ht placed at the rear of one of the blocks constituting the abutment with dimensions 200x250x350ht will serve as anchoring for the stability of the bridge. These 2 blocks will be placed 250mm from the abutment, and spaced 125mm apart.

Explanatory plans :

Plan view

Side view

Architecture category :

Teams choosing the architecture category will be in competition with teams of the same category. They will not be opposed to those having chosen to compete in the resistance category. The bridges will therefore not be loaded until failure and destroyed at the end of the competition.

Resistance category :

Teams having chosen the balsa resistance category will be opposed to each other. At the end of the competition, the bridges will be loaded with weights ranging from 2.5kg to 5kg until their failure linearly.

The weights will be loaded in this precise order:

Loading order

The bridge that resisted the greatest load will be awarded the resistance prize. The structure will be judged broken as soon as one of the stacked weights falls due to instability of the structure or when the structure breaks. If a bridge does not break after placing all the weights at our disposal, the team will obtain the maximum score on the resistance evaluation.

Constraints:

• The span of the bridge will be 1000 mm; it is forbidden to reduce this span by any means. The deck must imperatively be placed parallel to the ground. If the condition is not respected, the bridge will be automatically disqualified from any category.

• Anchors for the construction of the bridge will be possible in the 2 siporex blocks specially provided for this purpose. Regarding the anchoring conditions, for those made in the anchoring blocks, there is no limit to the digging depth. On the other hand, it is forbidden to dig entirely through these blocks and to go around them with the kitchen twine and the fishing line. Non-compliance with this instruction will result in the disqualification of the bridge. Note that creating anchors is not mandatory for the construction of the bridge.

• It is forbidden to make any kind of anchoring on the interior faces of the abutments and on the interior face of the right abutment. Non-compliance with this instruction will result in the disqualification of the bridge.

• It is forbidden to use siporex offcuts in any way for the construction of the bridge. Non-compliance with this instruction will result in the disqualification of the bridge.

• It is possible to dig 1 cm into the top surface of the abutments in order to anchor the deck.

• The maximum height of the bridge (all elements included) must not exceed 75cm (40cm above the central pier). If this instruction is not respected, the team will see its score divided by 2.

• A surface area of 100*1100 mm and a height of 200 mm for all bridges on the deck must remain free in order to carry out the loading. If the zone is not respected, the score will be divided by 2.

• The OSB board cannot be cut or drilled; it must remain intact throughout the competition.

• The balsa strips can in no case rest on the OSB board.

• The kitchen twine as well as the fishing line cannot be used as reinforcement in the deck; they can only be used in the creation of the anchors or solely in the setting up of a cable-stayed bridge, under-spanned bridge, suspension bridge, etc. Non-compliance with this instruction will result in the disqualification of the bridge.

• Only the siporex blocks can be painted.

• The medium (MDF) cannot be cut.

• It is forbidden to make a mixture between glue and any other material.

• It is authorized to assemble, glue, and tie the construction materials together.

EVERYTHING NOT EXPLICITLY AUTHORIZED IS FORBIDDEN!

THE ORGANIZERS REMAIN AT YOUR DISPOSAL FOR ANY QUESTIONS CONCERNING THESE REGULATIONS BEFORE AND DURING THE COMPETITION.

Contest:

Each group will create a poster presenting their bridge (architectural choices and structural choices as well as the bridge plans) before the date of the competition, which will be displayed during the competition.

Judging criteria:

The bridges will be judged by a jury composed of architects and engineers, according to the following scoring grid:

■ Engineering (60 points)

• Feasibility of the bridge in reality:         20 points

• Relevance of the structure:                    20 points

(Proper use of a beam, …)

• Justification of technical choices:          20 points

■ Architecture (60 points)

• Quality of the model’s finishes:             20 points

(Glue smears, poorly cut wood, …)

• Harmony of the structure:                     20 points

(Proportion)

• Architectural innovation:                      20 points

Awards

Members of the winning teams in the different categories will be presented with an award.

Return of models

Participants will not be able to recover their model. Those that have not been destroyed will be kept by the organizing team and used for the communication of the competition.

Acceptance of the regulations

Registration for the competition implies acceptance of all terms of these regulations. Participants undertake to participate in the entirety of the model’s creation on April 25 and 26, 2026.

Intellectual property

Participants undertake to accept, without being able to claim any remuneration or reward, the publication of their identity and the presentation of their project for informative, promotional, or media purposes, within the framework of this operation, regardless of the method of distribution of this information (brochures, booklets, flyers, posters, press articles, website, etc.). Each candidate undertakes to grant free of charge to the organizer and its partners the right to use their image, their last name, and first name for the exploitation of photographs, interviews, or videos taken during the competition and which could be used by the organizer and its partners to promote this operation (internal and external communication, paper, video, internet, etc.). The organizer undertakes, however, not to distribute the contact details of the participants to third parties without their agreement.

Possible modifications

The organizer reserves the right to modify, at any time, these regulations and to take any decisions it deems useful for the application and interpretation of the regulations. The organizer may inform participants and their legal representatives by any means of its choice. The organizer also reserves the right to modify, extend, shorten, suspend, or cancel the competition, without notice, for whatever reason. The organizer will specifically reserve the right, if applicable, to invalidate and/or cancel any part of the competition if it appears that fraud or malfunctions have occurred in any form whatsoever within the framework of participation in the competition or the determination of the winners. In this event, it reserves the right not to award the prize(s) to the fraudsters and/or to pursue the authors of such fraud before the competent courts. Fraud results in the immediate disqualification of its author. The responsibility of the organizer and its partners cannot be engaged in respect of the foregoing, and participants and their legal representatives will therefore not be able to claim any compensation or indemnity of any kind whatsoever.

Information technology and civil liberties

It is reminded that to participate in the competition, participants must necessarily provide certain personal information concerning them (last name, first name, e-mail, telephone, etc.). The collection of this personal information is intended to allow the proper functioning of the competition. This information is recorded and saved in a computer file for the time necessary to take into account their participation, determine the winners, and award the prizes. This information is intended for the organizer. Failure to communicate this data will result in not being allowed to participate in the competition. It will not be kept beyond the proclamation of the results. Pursuant to Law No. 78-17 of January 6, 1978, relating to information technology, files, and civil liberties, participants have a right of opposition, access, rectification, and deletion of data concerning them. To exercise these rights, participants or their legal representatives must send a letter to the address of the Bridge Challenge ENISE association (see the “Who are we?” page of the website).