LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Jeffersontown High School hosted the 24th annual Cardboard Boat Regatta Wednesday. 

What You Need To Know

  •  Students at Jeffersontown High School compete in the Cardboard Boat Regatta

  •  The competition had more than 100 competitors 

  •  The tradition goes back 24 years

  • Boats can only be made of duct-tape and cardboard

Keaton Starks is a junior at Jtown High School and a member of the computer and design program. He’s also a heavily involved in the regatta.

“We design boats in auto-cad, cut them out in cardboard and decided to duct tape them to race them,” said Starks. 

The regatta is a tradition at the school that started over two decades ago.

“So you’re sitting on top of the water. You can see we have corners on the boat. That’s for us to cut through the water. We’re not pushing it,” said Starks. 

Students have six weeks to build a boat only using cardboard and duct tape. Once boats are complete, students put them to the test.

The cardboard boats must not only survive the water, they have to support a rider’s weight and make it through the race. Students paddled 50 meters for each race. 

Students agreed that one element determined the success of their cardboard boat. 

“You should always rely on a team. It can take you so far and teamwork is where it’s at,” said student Shilo Long. 

“If you have a good team behind you, you’re going to strive for this type of thing. I definitely say we had a good team setup,” said Starks. 

The Cardboard Boat Regatta was a success. Every boat in the regatta stayed afloat. Now it’s time to plan for the silver anniversary of the regatta. 

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