FSC’s Cardboard Regatta 2008
A new event this semester sponsored by the Wellness Center.
Clip courtesy of Wellness TV

This year's winners: Joey Pilka, Justin Bivens, Kevin Parker, and Alex Eastman of Hollis Mutiny.
Photos courtesy of Michelle Thompson

“Cardboard?” you ask? Yes!

On Saturday, the FSC community came together to cheer on six of our bravest mariners as they piloted their cardboard creations across Lake Hollingsworth at FSC’s inaugural Cardboard Regatta.

“We were looking for new and creative competitions for the campus” says Matt Thompson, Vice President and Dean of Student Development. Since their inception at Southern Illinois University in 1974, Cardboard Regattas have become a great way to build community and team spirit.

At this wacky and wet event, students working in teams of four–the Buoyant Cacti Brigade, Hollis Mutiny, Jon and the Argonauts, the Jolly Moccasins, Speckled Belly Mullets and Tri Chi, were challenged to fashion a boat using only cardboard, a box cutter, and duct tape! When the two hour time limit to construct the boat was reached, a member of each team climbed into the craft and paddled out and around a buoy.

“Didn’t they sink?” you must be thinking. Well, sure they did. But that was all part of the fun. And though no team was able to make it to the buoy and back, Hollis Mutiny – Joey Pilka, Justin Bivens, Kevin Parker, and Alex Eastman – residents of Hollis Hall, did take home the first place trophy for making it the farthest.

“Coming out in matching shirts and singing team chants these teams displayed incredible team spirit,” commented Michelle Thompson, the associate director of the wellness program, who sponsored the event. “A good time was had by all.”