UAH to host 'Paddle-a-thon'

By

Phillip Gentry
UAH University Relations
Phone: (256) 824-6420

It’s sleek.  It’s fast.  It floats.  And it’s made of concrete.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (May 24, 2001) — Student engineers at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) are inviting the public to the first-ever “Paddle-a-thon” on the UAH lake on Saturday, June 2, at 10 a.m.

The event is a fundraiser for UAH’s concrete canoe team, which will represent Alabama and the entire Southeast in the American Society of Civil Engineers’ concrete canoe national championship, June 14-16 in San Diego, CA.

Team members who are sponsored by individuals and companies in the area will paddle laps around the lake.  Some students expect to paddle up to eight miles.  A limited number of practice boats and concrete canoes from past years will also be available for the public to try.

All tax-deductible donations from the event will be used to pay the team’s expenses for traveling to the national competition.

During the past 14 years UAH's concrete canoe team has won 12 regional and four national championships.  This year’s canoe uses innovative technology developed at UAH to help it move through the water more rapidly.  The unique concrete used to build this year’s boat is so light, the canoe will carry no special flotation material — because it can’t sink.

For additional information please contact:

André Danson, (256) 824-2896; Myia Redic, (256) 797-3322; Dr. John Gilbert, (256) 824-6029