Sixteen-year-old Hunter Clifft of Camden won this year's West Tennessee * Regional Science Fair for his research on skateboard durability.

''I tested 33 different skateboards,'' Hunter said. He contacted many of the skateboarding companies directly and many sent him some of their skateboards to test.

From his research, he found the most durable skateboards came from the Performance SK8 company based in Sweden *. And, yes, the company in Sweden sent the teen their skateboards to test.

Clifft is still doing skateboard research. Now, he is looking into how to make a skateboard better for next year's science fair. The annual fair is sponsored by Union University.

This was Clifft's first year to participate in the fair. He was motivated by an offer from his high school science teacher. Hunter will be a junior in the fall at Camden Central High School. His high school science teacher, Hunter said, told his class that every student who entered a project in the science fair would earn 30 extra points toward his six-week grade. That motivated Hunter to enter the science fair.

Winnings for his first-place finish included a $1,000 scholarship to Union University, a medallion, plaque and a one year subscription to Science News.

''I think there needs to be more interest in science,'' the teen said. ''It's a good career.''

Ever since he was put into an advanced science class in the third grade, Hunter has pretty much known that he would pursue science as a career. His ultimate goal, he said, is to work for Instron, a materials testing company.

This article was originally entitled "Camden 16-year-old wins regional science fair with research on skateboards" and was found at http://miva.jacksonsun.com/miva/cgi-bin/miva? NEWS/news_storyV2.mv+link=200407226329992

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