Covestro announced its sixth annual “Rethink the Rink” Make-A-Thon in collaboration with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Carnegie Mellon Engineering and Bauer Hockey.

This event will span from March 6 to 10, 2023, and will encourage CMU students to develop in-novative prototypes of hockey equipment at the university’s TechSpark lab. The event will culminate in a series of prototype pitches to a panel of judges with expertise in professional hockey, advanced materials and hockey equipment, with the best prototypes potentially continuing develop-ment and becoming commercially available.

This year’s Rethink-the-Rink Make-A-Thon will focus on developing shot blocker equipment to protect a player’s lower leg and ankle from the puck when the player attempts to block the opposing team’s shot. Currently, there is no standardize shot blocker equipment, even though injuries resulting from a puck striking a players’ lower extremity is common.

Carnegie Mellon students will have one week to ideate solutions, develop and test prototypes, and create a compelling presentation to explain their concepts to a panel of expert judges from the Penguins, Covestro, Bauer Hockey and the Engineering college. To help them achieve their goal, the students will have help from coaches, including materials experts from Covestro and hockey professionals from the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The “Rethink the Rink” partnership began at the close of 2017 when Covestro, the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Carnegie Mellon joined forces to bolster player safety and foster a sustained pipeline of hockey innovation.

“Covestro has a rich history of leveraging partnerships and collaborations in the spirit of innova-tion,” said Haakan Jonsson, chairman and president of Covestro. “The ongoing success of the Rethink the Rink program and the Make-a-Thon is a testament to the process, which brings great minds together toward the common objective of making hockey safer. I am extremely proud of our work with the Penguins and Carnegie Mellon Engineering, and I welcome Bauer Hockey to this year’s Make-a-Thon, a world class partner in the design and manufacturer of hockey equipment.”

“I am continually energized by the passion and commitment of our students,” said Bill Sanders, Dean of the College of Engineering. “In one short week, they take the beginning of an idea all the way to a finished prototype. Working with the materials experts at Covestro and the Pittsburgh Penguins is truly a rewarding experience for our students. I am excited to see the final prototypes and the possibilities that come from this year’s Make-a-Thon.”

“The Rethink the Rink partnership continues to spawn new ideas that can improve safety in the sport of hockey,” said Kevin Acklin, President of Business Operations for the Pittsburgh Penguins. “What started as a concept back in 2017 has evolved into what is now a successful annual event. I congratulate the students, our Pens experts and Covestro for coming together once again for Make-a-thon 2023, the sixth year of a very successful partnership.”