On Thursday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m., the Office of Student Engagement, Activities and Leadership (SEAL) hosted the Cardboard Boat Regatta in the Buchanan Kiewit Wellness Center pool for the second time, as they hope to establish it as a recurring tradition. The event took place over two days, with the boatbuilding stage happening on Tuesday, Jan. 28 outside the Office of SEAL on the fourth floor of Warch Campus Center, with the race itself occurring the next day. SEAL provided the participants of each two-person team with cardboard, one roll of duct tape and scissors to construct their boats.
Senior Diana Van Gilder, a student employee at the Office of SEAL, explained that the Cardboard Boat Regatta was inspired by similar events at other higher education institutions like Lawrence. She said that the rules of the event were that two people had to be in each boat, and that the teams had to cross the entire length of the pool before the other teams to win. Non-cardboard decorations were permitted, assuming that they were pool-safe and did not add any structural support to the boats.
This term, two teams competed at the Cardboard Boat Regatta. The winning team consisted of first-years Leigh Anderson and Joseph Manasse, successfully crossing the length of the pool in a total of one minute and three seconds, paddling across the water with scraps of cardboard fashioned as oars. Their opposing team, made up of first-years Tyler Hutchinson and Charlie Kern, was unable to keep up with Anderson and Manasse; their boat filled with water before they could begin to paddle. Since only these two teams competed, however, SEAL awarded prizes to both.
“You had to think about how you wanted to build the boat and how it needed to be constructed so it would stay afloat,” explained Anderson. “I put four layers of cardboard and tape on the bottom. I’m happy we made it across without getting really wet—until we were trying to get out.”
This marked the second time that SEAL has sponsored this event, with the previous time occurring during Spirit Week of Fall Term 2024. However, according to Van Gilder, the event was not as well-attended as SEAL would have hoped due to last-minute advertising.
“Last term when we initially put out the call, we were especially looking at sports teams, clubs and organizations,” explained Van Gilder. “We are framing it with the idea of LUgge, the all-campus event [centered on] the idea of finding warmth and community — and finding strength in that.”
Van Gilder emphasized the community building aspect of boatbuilding and racing and expressed hope that the event would attract off-season athletes as an opportunity for friendly competition. For this reason, SEAL is hoping to repeat the event again in Spring Term 2025 to give more students the opportunity to race their friends. Junior Iris Pierce of the fencing team expressed excitement at the possibility of getting to take part in the event when her season ends, agreeing that the event would be well-suited for athletes.
“I think it’s a fun community builder and a good way to introduce some creativity into your day,” Pierce said.