Fawcett Family Aquatic Center in Nevada will soon host its first official boat race!
Yes, you read that right!
Coming to the Aquatic Center on Sunday, Aug. 17, is the first-ever Cardboard Boat Regatta Race, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Nevada, and seeking competitors, age 18 and older.
“The regatta race came to mind when we were thinking about doing a fundraising event at Rotary Pond (behind the Field House),” said Nevada Evening Rotary member Erin Anderson, who is part of the planning committee for the event.
The committee wanted to utilize the pond for an event to honor the late Dennis Skinner, a devout Nevada Rotary member for whom Denny’s Dock was built at the pond. But there were safety concerns, and that’s when Parks and Recreation Assistant Director Rhonda Maier offered an alternative. “She was more than happy to host our event at Fawcett,” Erin said.
The Cardboard Boat Regatta Race will challenge participants to make a boat out of cardboard. It can be assembled using duct tape, glue, paint, varnish, zip ties, rope or string.
Participants must provide their own wooden paddles, and each boat must carry at least two and a maximum of four team members. More rules and information about the specifics can be found on the Rotary Club of Nevada’s Facebook event page. It will be $20 for each boat entry.
In addition to honoring Skinner, another reason for the boat race to be held goes along with the Rotary Club’s “7 Areas of Focus.” Two of the seven areas, community/economic development and support for the environment, are part of a mission the Rotary Club has to make improvements at Harrington Park on Nevada’s east side.
Since it’s inception in 2020, the Rotary Evening Group in Nevada has worked at Harrington Park, its first project was upgrading the disc golf course.
“The disc golf course now has an active league that meets weekly during the warmer months,” Erin said.
She continued, “After spending much time on the project, we felt as if the park itself was super under-utilized…but why? It all came down to accessibility. There is no way handicapped individuals and strollers can navigate the park efficiently. The park not only offers a disc course, but also bathrooms, a pavilion, soccer and baseball fields, horseshoes, and a skate park. With the new picturesque stream that cuts through the middle of the park to help mitigate flooding, we saw the need for some type of path to either go around or over it so that all individuals would be able to enjoy Harrington Park.”
The Regatta will be one of the fundraisers to help proceed with Harrington Park improvements.
An Evening Rotary club group made up of Erin, Justin Rewerts, John Molacek, Henry Corbin, Kerry Weig, Muriel Burnett, Steve Skaggs and Taylor Carpenter makes up the Regatta committee, and they’ve been having fun with the planning.
For instance, competitors can vie for cash prizes in categories like Star Design Award and Titanic Award! They can decorate their boats in fun ways, as long as they follow the rules.
And the community can come to cheer on these competitors for an admission of just $1 per person!
Erin said the lap area of the aquatic center will be utilized to provide lanes for the boats to race, and they will have heats until all boats entered have completed the course. “The best time out of all the heats will win the speed boat award, and may potentially take away grand champion if their design and showmanship impress the judges!”
Erin is on a team, and she believes her team will be the team to beat. “Our group has worked several nights designing and building, and we feel that we will be a tough contender.”
Find more out more about the Cardboard Boat Regatta Race and enter to give Erin’s team a challenge!
The Rotary Clubs of Nevada are also always looking for new members, people who love giving back to their community. If you are interested in joining either the noon club or evening club, please reach out through the Nevada Rotary Club Facebook page!
–Written by Marlys Barker, City of Nevada
