Cardboard boat race

A cardboard boat race, sometimes known as a boat regatta, is a common school-spirit competition for students of high school and college age.

The earliest documented cardboard boat regatta was the result of a design problem created by Davis Pratt at Southern Illinois University in 1962. See documentation at http://www.grantmaclaren.com/cardboard for the original problem statement, the design class and one successful contender.

A typical competition format allows competitors a fixed build time, using only a predetermined number of cardboard sheets, glue, adding machine tape, and paint. Duct tape is also often a key ingredient. Once completed, teams must race their boats across a shallow pond, river, or swimming pool using similarly constructed oars. The boats will almost always flood, sink, or shred under the weight, mostly due to the difficulties of waterproofing cardboard. Awards are often given out for effort and spirit, instead of victory.

Sample race photos and news articles:
* [http://www.gcbr.com/ Great Cardboard Boat Regatta(R)] is the original event. started in 1974 at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois. The founder was Richard Archer, a professor of art and design, whose Design 102 class was exploring one of R. Buckminster Fuller's principles: "Doing the most with the least." Archer's class had examined the properties of corrugated cardboard that term, and the idea of building boats of cardboard developed from that initial glimmer of an idea. Today, the focus of the event remains creative problem-solving, not competition. The Circuit of sanctioned events has grown to include dozens of cities and towns since the first site in Illinois more than 30 years ago.
* [http://www.mcdonogh.org/view.cfm?tFile=photoessays/index.cfm&Op=ViewEssays&ID=325&SP=1&Cat=315 Cardboard Boat Race] at McDonogh School
* [http://www.electronics4dummies.com/cardyak.htm Cardboard Boat race in Medford, Oregon]
* [http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2005/082005/08212005/123782 Article about the Cardboard Boat Regatta in Stafford, Va.]
* [http://www.theschubox.com/cbb Cardboard Boat Regatta in Stafford, Va.]