The sun shines right in the eyes of the catcher, hitter and umpire for about 20 minutes during BYU softball home games, according to BYU Athletics. (BYU Athletics)
BYU Athletics is offering $1,000 to any BYU engineering student who can create a design to solve the sun-glare problem that occurs during the softball team's home games.
According to BYU Athletics, the sun shines in the eyes of the catcher, hitter and umpire for about 20 minutes during spring softball home games. The sun glare is often so bad that the softball game is suspended until the sun sets.
BYU Athletics has reached out to BYU Engineering to find students who can “conceptualize and design a solution for this problem.'
Students must consider the aesthetics and branding, location, ease of use, integration with light poles and camera platform, and durability of their proposed solutions. The design does not need to be up year-round, but during the seasons when the sun impacts players.
The project budget is $40,000. Engineering students can sign up as a team or work independently.
Students are invited to present their designs March 20 in Engineering Building Room 250 where a panel of judges will decide which idea will be best to implement in the softball fields. Students are expected to bring a print version of their presentation outline and their own computer.
The judges will select three finalists to present on April 10 at 3 p.m. All three finalists will receive $150 in reward prior to the final event on April 10. Once selected, the finalist with the award-winning idea will receive a $1,000 reward.
Engineering Communications Manager Jordan Crowley Watts said sign-ups are required to present an idea.
“This is a very exciting opportunity for students,' said Watts. 'We already had to add more time slots to accommodate the demand to compete.”
Currently, 31 students are signed up to present at the event. Sign-ups are open until the time of the event on March 20.