Race Winners Announced

The winners of the second annual Cardboard Boat Race were recently announced.
Alexis Bradby and Krystian Rolle in “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” won Best Depiction of Literary Theme, “Cruise the World with Books,” in their cardboard boat covered with silver duct tape and sporting huge mouse ears as part of the mouse’s face (bow of the vessel).
If a person builds a boat from cardboard and then utilizes duct tape in strategic places, it just might stay afloat long enough to cross the pool to the finish line.  And then again, it might not make it, depending the on the skill of the captains or the balance, design and stability of the craft.
Before the starting whistle finally blew to start the first heat, one boat sank, and the other two boats also quickly capsized before ever getting away from the starting line.  In each of the heats, whether or not the boats stayed afloat, racers and spectators alike cheered on the contestants.  
Sponsored by the Blount County Public Library and Maryville-Alcoa-Blount County Parks and Recreation, the second annual Cardboard Boat Race finally commenced at the John Sevier Swimming Pool July 15, following multiple delays due to thunder.  
For safety, pool rules require that all people have to be out of the pool for 30 minutes following any thunder, so Friday evening’s continual thunder for several hours held off the start of the race.
Finally, pool manager, Mia Upton, announced that boats and their captains could enter the water, while about 100 damp spectators cheered them on.
In addition to Bradby and Rolle, the other boat contestant winners were:
Cade Ernsberger, a first-time paddler on his maiden voyage in a boat race—and a last-minute volunteer substitute, to boot–after the original competitor became ill, smoked the competition to win the Speedy Gonzales trophy for fastest vessel (“Fire Storm” made in the style of a kayak) in this year’s Cardboard Boat Race.  
Hunter O’Hern in “Vikings” received the Titanic Award for the most spectacular sinking, capsizing even before the first whistle sounded to start the heat.
Megan and Emily Boring won the Ship-Shape trophy for the most creative design and best use of cardboard in their vessel, “Warriors,” which was shaped like a giant orange striped cat.
The Team Spirit Award went to the mother-daughter team of Teresa and Cara Garner for their fast pursuit of Ernsberger.  Their craft was entitled, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.”
The Cardboard Queen trophy (prettiest boat) was presented to Rachel Garner in “Zinnia’s Flower Garden.”  Rachel’s vessel was covered with flowers made in multiple colors of duct tape.  Garner’s mother commented that they started making that boat last December during Christmas vacation.  
All boats depicted the race theme of “Cruise the World with Books,” designed around a theme from a material currently in the permanent collection at the Blount County Public Library.
Constructed from only four allowed materials—cardboard, duct tape, glue and latex paint–boats could have a maximum size of 8 feet by 3 feet.  Participants must use manual propulsion such as oars, paddles, paddle wheels or flippers.  Each boat could have up to two people in it, with an adult older than 18 required to be in any boat with a participant whose age is six years through ten.  
Presumably because of the rainy evening, more than half of the entries in the boat race did not make it to the competition.  For the ones who participated, though, the race was a fun contest using creativity, ingenuity and skill.   
Along with library staff, numerous volunteers from the Friends of the Blount County Public Library helped staff the various positions needed to run the race.  The Friends group also provided funds to purchase the trophies and other materials for the contest.