Afloat on a cardboard boat: Coeur d'Alene middle schoolers race at SafeSplash

COEUR d’ALENE — It was a trip to the movies by way of the pool Monday as the cardboard boats races began.     

Students from Woodland Middle School brought their handiwork to SafeSplash Swim School to compete for poolside supremacy.  

Boats included student designs inspired by movies such as “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “King Fu Panda,” “Monsters, Inc.” and “A Minecraft Movie,” as well as the manga and anime “One Piece.”  

It's been three years since teacher Chris Rogers “floated” the idea to Jennifer Jackson of SafeSplash, and they struck up a partnership for the event. 

“The kids were already coming here and we have an amazing connection to our community, so we said, ‘We’re already keeping your kids safe, why not?’” Jackson said. 

The exercise of building a boat from cardboard and duct tape requires lessons in buoyancy and a little bit of engineering. 

Students had to keep a low center of gravity in mind while constructing their designs but also make sure they were comfortable enough for them to paddle.  

Duct tape helped waterproof the boats long enough to complete the race. 

Liam Jurgensen’s boat held together, but its stability wasn’t consistent, and he ended up inthe water. 

“I fell. I thought it would be decent but it capsized,” Liam said. 

Deb Jurgensen, Liam's mom, was just proud her son made it a full pool length. 

“It was fun helping him make it, and it’s all for fun,” she said.  

Creativity was almost as important as the engineering.  

Malia Rogers helped her husband with the event, making sure to film her daughter’s races for posterity.  

“They get extra points if they sink and do something fun,” Rogers said. 

Reaghan Rogers brought aboard her friend, Brooklyn Hansen, to sail aboard the “One Piece”-inspired boat, and the two students used makeup and costumes to emulate some of the characters. 

After they made it through their first heat, the duo compared notes and talked about previous races. 

Last year, Reaghan was on a team that intentionally poked a hole in the boat to see how it would sink.  

She had forgotten about the immense effort it takes to keep the boat afloat. 

“We had to paddle really hard,” Reaghan said.

    Liam Jurgensen modeled his cardboard boat after the Ferrari from "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."
  

    Two students prepare to abandon ship as their cardboard boat ceased to float at the SafeSplash pool.
  

    A team styled after the movie "Monsters Inc." paddles to complete a lap in the pool during their cardboard boat race.
  

    The cardboard boats occasionally pinned each other during their race heats at SafeSplash while students from Woodland Middle School tried to complete laps in the pool.
  

    Liam Jurgensen paddles past his competitors in his boat inspired by "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."