Other cardboard boat races may exist, but among them, Southern Illinois University's Great Cardboard Boat Regatta has endured the test of time and gained a level of notoriety few have achieved. On April 26, 2025, this annual competition will celebrate its 50th year, half a century of fun, fortitude, and inevitable failure, as competitors once again take to the waters of Campus Lake to test their meddle and whatever hair-brained boat idea they've committed to wood pulp.
For the last 15 years Mary Kinsel, a faculty member from the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Sciences, has organized the annual event, which asks its participants to build a boat entirely of cardboard that will support the weight of one or more people and race it over a 200-yard course. Trophies are awarded to the fastest boats in four classes: paddle/oar propulsion, mechanical propulsion, instant boats built on-site, and youth-built boats. Additional awards are given for the best use of cardboard, best team spirit, people's choice, and finally the "Titanic" award, which goes to the most spectacular sinking of the day.
This year, Kinsel and her team of volunteers are being assisted by the SIU Alumni Association and SIU Touch of Nature. Both organizations are not only helping with the 50th annual regatta but have committed to supporting the continuation of the event into the future.
From Class Project to Saluki Tradition
The Great Cardboard Boat Regatta officially began in 1974 by the late design professor Richard Archer (or "Commodore Archer" as he came to be known) as a final exam for students in his freshman dimensional design class. The idea was to teach them that successful product design is a mixture of form and function, hence designing a boat made of cardboard that was seaworthy, fast, and attractive to practice these skills. Success or failure would be determined by how dry or wet boat occupants were at the end of the race.
Nearly half of the boats in the first regatta failed miserably, but everyone had a great time. Over the next couple of years, the effort also began to attract more attention from the campus, community, and beyond.
By 1976, Archer had coined the name, "Great Cardboard Boat Regatta" and SIU was inviting anyone and everyone to enter it. From there, the spectacle took hold as more people brought more creative designs to brave the waters. Over the years entries have included cardboard barges, rafts, canoes, and kayaks as well as offbeat designs such as giant bananas, sharks, a hoverboard, 10-foot tall ukeleles, festive dragons, pirate ships, waterwheels, and basketball shoes.
Entries have come from as far away as Paris and New Zealand. Thousands of universities and communities across the world have launched similar regattas.
As Archer once said, people love a good wreck, and the regatta provides plenty of chances to see dramatic, non-dangerous “wrecks” along with a really good show filled with plenty of laughter.
The late Richard Archer, SIU design professor and founder of the Great Cardboard Boat Regatta at SIU.
If you can imagine it...
The last 50 years have seen some legendary boat entries. If you can imagine it, someone has likely built it -- a baby grand piano, Gumby, Bart Simpson, a candy bar, a Beanie Baby, PT109, and P-51 Mustang are just some of the entries.
Jonah's Taxi, a whale with a functioning blowhole, was created for the 1987 event. Also that year, a boat with 42 people (and a dog) survived the entire course, even though it took quite a while, organizers recall. The following year, a team stretched the limits of safety with 58 people aboard a 400-square-foot cardboard barge. After that, organizers placed a 10-person limit on crafts.
In 1989, an international student crossed the finish line in a cardboard hamster wheel. Not to be outdone, another year a basketball player, who suddenly remembered the regatta the day of the event, grabbed a loose cardboard box out of a dumpster on his way to the race and somehow managed to paddle the complete course.
Some contestants, knowing they're unlikely to finish the race, opt for the spectacle. One year someone rigged their boat with fireworks in attempting an elaborate sinking. Ironically, the explosion didn't sink the boat, and another entry won the "Titanic" award that year with a more impressive, authentic sinking.
Other entries throughout the year have dabbled in political statements with references to the Richard Nixon tapes and the Exxon Valdez.
A photo from the 1989 regatta, which was featured on Good Morning America.
Reaching a Zenith
By the mid-1980s, the regatta was an event to watch, and it got attention on national news. In 1986, CNN featured the Great Cardboard Boat Regatta for a segment and ABC's Good Morning America filmed at the event in 1989. Entries were growing and a slew of other media outlets took note of what was happening each year on the Carbondale campus.
For its 25th anniversary in 1998, the event drew a record 206 entries, a crowd of spectators estimated at 20,000, and a live broadcast by Good Morning America. Regatta attendees also enjoyed a performance from Grammy award-winning Jamaican band Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers.
Throughout it all, students and community members continued to stretch the bounds of creativity and come together to make memories. Organizers have been inspired to see groups like the Scouts, Boys and Girls Club, and generations of families competing in the regatta year after year. The event itself is old enough to have outlasted many of the people who helped found it.
Archer passed away in 2017 shortly after he attended that year's regatta and received a founder's plaque.
The COVID Crush
The regatta remained a staple of university life well into the 21st century. When Kinsel took over running the show in 2010, the event was still something the entire community looked forward to.
"We had been steadily gaining momentum -- more boats racing and bigger crowds -- year after year from 2010 to 2019, and then COVID-19 happened," Kinsel said.
The virus was officially declared a pandemic a month before the 2020 regatta. Students were sent home and did not return to campus in full force until the fall of 2021.
"That two-year break hit us hard," she said. "In 2022, we held our 47th Great Cardboard Boat Regatta (with the "annual" notably absent) and with noticeably fewer boats racing in front of smaller crowds. Since then, we have thrown ourselves into rebuilding connections with current students, regional educators, businesses, and community members.
Rowing Onward
Like many of the cardboard boats that have struggled over the years, persistence and knowing when to reach out for a helping hand are key. This year, for the 50th Great Cardboard Boat Regatta, Kinsel sought help from the SIU Alumni Association to help remind alumni that this storied event is still an ongoing tradition.
With this year's regatta happening the same weekend as several on-campus events, including the 3rd Annual Saluki Ball, Scott Moller '85, president of the Association's national board of directors, said it's a wonderful opportunity to reconnect alumni with the university through something they surely have fond memories of experiencing themselves as a student.
"The cardboard boat regatta is a quintessential SIU event," Moller said. "Anyone who's attended in the last 50 years knows about it and should be proud to see it continuing this strong for half a century. I know some of our board members are excited because they plan to compete in the on-site build category!"
Another critical partner for the future of the regatta is the SIU Touch of Nature Outdoor Education Center, led by Brian Croft, an alumnus who earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees in recreation at SIU.
"SIU is a university rich in traditions, and it's these traditions that make our community special," Croft said. "Touch of Nature is proud to be part of the planning team for the Carbondale regatta, as it not only celebrates a believed local tradition but also aligns perfectly with our mission of enhancing lives through outdoor experiences.
"For us, participating is a no-brainer, and we're excited to help steward this program for the next 50 years!"
