THOMASVILLE, Ga. — Twenty-eight Thomas County Central High School and Thomas County Middle School students recently competed in a cardboard boat race to raise money for the schools’ swim team.

Coach Todd Wilson “wanted to do something that would become an annual event (for the Thomas County Central swim team).

The event was held in November at the Butler Mason YMCA pool.

“I wanted something that would get our students involved and be fun for everyone at Central,” he said.

The first place winners had a time of one minute and 10 seconds. The first place team of Reese Smith, Allie Popwell, Collin Keigans, and Riley Stringer received $80. The second place team of Jackson NeSmith, Kendall Salter, Brandon Clark, and Caleb Clark won $40.

Keigans “saw the forms for the race and thought it seemed interesting,” he said. His team’s boat was “’Challenger-themed.”

Another award was given as well: the “Titanic Award,” for the most dramatic sinking, was given to the team of Morgan Allen, Morgan Lowe, Caylin Dollar, and Reagan Moody.

“I laughed so hard I cried,” Wilson said. “It was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.”

Team member Allen decided to compete in the race because “it sounded fun.”

“As soon as we sat in the boat, it sank,” she said. “We turned too quickly and it fell over.”

Two weeks were spent organizing the event, which included promoting the competition and building the boats. Teams consisted of four students who paid $5 apiece to compete. The boats could only be made with cardboard and duct tape and the boat could not be covered in duct tape. No glues or sealants were allowed to hold the boats together. The boats could be a maximum width of four feet and a maximum length of six feet; there was no maximum height requirement.

Each boat was designed to hold a two-person crew and was required to travel 50 yards, which is two lengths of the pool. After traveling to one end of the pool, the two members in the boat got out and the other two got in to row back. The use of paddles was prohibited. Students could only use their hands to paddle.

On the day, there was a crowd of 75 spectators that watched the race. During the event, music from the film “Titanic” played over the loud speakers as the boats sank, fell apart, or turned over.

TCCHS student Kendall Salter recounts her funniest moment of the race when “the boat would start leaning, which made it hard to paddle because we kept laughing at each other.”

“You got to have a good time while being competitive with the other teams,” Salter said.

Wilson hopes to grow the event and make it an annual competition at TCCHS.

“I would also like to see other sports teams and clubs get involved next year,” he said.