MELBOURNE, FLA. - On Saturday March 7th, as part of Florida Tech's 37 Hours Of Giving, the second annual Panther Paddle was held at the Panther Aquatic Center.
Eleven teams comprised of Florida Tech students and staff, as well as two High School teams, were given the challenge of constructing human-sized cardboard boats. Engineering skills and creativity were needed as duct tape, plastics, wood and Styrofoam could not be used for the boats. In addition, the person in the boat could not use any body part to get their boat from one end of the pool to the other.
The fastest boat on the day belonged to the Petty Betty's, made up of Chief Data Officer Amanda Moske and General Council Grace Gamage, who reached the wall in 19.82 seconds. They will be invited back to defend their title in 2027.
The SS Collaborators, a group of Florida Tech students led by George Nehma and Niall Harris, came in second place.
The ASME Chapter of Florida Tech, represented by Isaac Weisbrod, Kendra Tiger and Karrissa Hawk, finished in third place.
In the high school division of this year's Panther Paddle, Edgewood High School defended its win from a year ago with its boat, Race Not Scheduled, coming in first place.
The contestants were judged on construction, theme, name and creativity for the Best Design Award.
The Best Design was awarded to the Petty Betty's.
