For the first time, UF students will race recycled canoes at Broward Pool to raise money for a cancer walk.
Registration for Phi Sigma Rho’s first Phi Rho Your Boat event is now open. For the event April 10, teams will build boats from recycled plastics, such as bottles and bags. They hope to raise about $200 for Light the Night, a leukemia and lymphoma fundraising event to support cancer research.
Teams of up to 10 students will collect the materials from across Gainesville, said Morgan Leger, one of the sorority’s co-philanthropy chairs. The sorority decided to hold the event after other chapters did.
The $50 registration fee provides each team with two plastic bags, two rolls of tape and either a foam noodle or a kick board, she said.
Lifeguards will oversee the race at Broward Pool, the UF environmental engineering sophomore said.
Boats can be as long as each team wants, but they must be at least one foot tall, the 19-year-old said. Teams will use their hands as paddles.
The winners will receive $100 for the charity of their choice, Leger said. They’re also asking for donations for Light the Night.
“Right now, we ask friends and family to donate,” she said.
Mary Regan, a co-philanthropy chair, said she’s looking forward to seeing what the boats look like.
“I’m most excited to see what kinds of designs people come up with and their creativity,” the 21-year-old UF agricultural and biological engineering senior said.
