It's sink or float for elementary students in Sturgeon Falls

Skills Canada - Ontario
News Release

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Elementary students’ technology and design skills sink or float at The Elementary Cardboard Boat Races in Sturgeon Falls

Who: Skills Canada – Ontario and senior elementary students from across the region

What: Elementary Cardboard Boat Race

Where: West Nipissing Recreation Complex
219 O’Hara Street, Sturgeon Falls, ON

When: Tuesday, January 26, 2010 – 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm

On Tuesday, January 26, above the cheering and the bare feet slapping on the pool deck you will be able to hear the competitor’s splashing as they dig their hands deep into the water and paddle for all they are worth. The senior elementary students who apply their knowledge of technology concepts and design, and who have bit of luck on their side, will race their cardboard boat forward through the pool towards the second part of the event, the looming Weight Challenge. Slowly and carefully, team members will lower themselves into the soggy hauls, testing their boats ability to hold their combined bodyweight.

Will the teams of four be able to construct a boat using two 4’ x 8’ sheets of corrugated cardboard and duct tape that will keep them afloat and will they be able to beat the standing records in speed, 15.03 seconds, set in Nepean in 2009 and weight, 1411 lbs, set in Waterloo in 2006?

For over 15 years, Skills Canada – Ontario, a not-for-profit organization whose mandate is "to promote the skilled trades and technologies as viable, first-choice career options to Ontario youth" has been hosting the Cardboard Boat Races. This season, 7 Elementary Cardboard Boat Races will be held in community centers and schools across the province. The races help students discover a world in which applying their technological knowledge and hands-on capabilities can accomplish as much as their imaginations. Skills Canada – Ontario believes this world of tremendous opportunity is open to them through a career in the skilled trades and technologies.

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